LIB  R  A.  R  Y 

OF     I  UK. 

Theological     Seminary, 

PRINCETON,     N.    J. 


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BX    9225    .J27    155 


I     In  memoriam,    Melancthon  W. 
]       Jacobus 

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Melancthon   W.   Jacobus, 

D.D.,  LL.  D. 

Born,  September  19,  1816. 
Died,  October  28,  1876. 


Rev.  Dr.  Melancthon  W.  Jacobus  was  suddenly 
called  away  from  earth,  on  the  morning  of  Saturday, 
October  28th,  1876.  His  accustomed  occupations 
were  prosecuted  without  abatement  to  the  last.  But 
two  days  before  his  death  he  was  in  consultation  with 
Rev.  Dr.  C.  C.  Beatty,  the  President  of  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary,  and 
its  most  munificent  benefactor;  busied  with  plans  for 
the  welfare  of  that  institution,  and  particularly  for  the 
alteration  and  enlargement  of  one  of  its  principal  edi- 
fices. It  was  scarcely  two  months  since  the  opening 
of  the  session,  at  which  he  delivered  the  introductory 
lecture;  returning  with  fresh  zeal  and  apparently  invig- 
orated health  to  his  work,  from  which  the  offer  of  the 
Secretaryship  of  the  Board  of  Education  had  failed  to 
draw  him.  His  reasons  for  declining  that  position, 
which  had  been  urgently  pressed  upon  him,  will  appear 
from  a  brief  extract  from  a  letter  written  at  the  time:  — 

"  You  may  be  surprised  to  learn  that,  after  weighing 
all  my  duty  in  regard  to  the  Secretaryship,  I  am  not 


able  to  see  my  way  clear  to  accept  the  invitation. 
The  work  would  take  me  so  entirely  off  my  track  of 
life-long  occupation,  —  in  the  office  and  on  the  wing, 
vindicating  the  cause,  and  appealing  for  funds,  and  tak- 
ing a  sort  of  oversight  of  candidates,  —  that  I  find 
myself  shrinking  from  it,  and  fearing  that  my  nervous 
s}Tstem  might  not  bear  the  strain.  I  therefore  more 
readily  fall  in  with  the  protests  from  Allegheny,  and 
with  the  counsel  of  many  Eastern  friends,  who  say  that, 
while  I  am  the  man  for  the  post,  it  is  doubtful  whether 
it  is  the  post  for  me.  And,  much  as  I  should  like  the 
idea  of  rendering  the  church  important  service,  I  can- 
not be  sure  that  even  at  self-sacrifice  I  should  be  able 
to  endure  it.  I  wait,  then,  the  will  and  providence  of 
God.  I  would  like  to  pursue  my  Biblical  studies,  and 
put  my  material  of  twenty-five  years  into  shape.  Per- 
haps I  may  have  mistaken  my  duty;  but  I  have  every 
way  sought  light." 

The  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber, being  in  session  but  a  few  days  before  he  died,  he 
was  present,  and  took  an  active  part  in  its  proceedings. 
He  addressed  the  Synod  upon  various  matters  which 
were  under  discussion,  and  particularly  made  an  ear- 
nest appeal  on  behalf  of  the  cause  of  sustentation,  in 


which  he  continued  to  take  a  lively  interest;  having 
been  from  the  first  profoundly  convinced  of  its  vast, 
and  even  vital,  importance  to  the  Presbyterian  Church; 
having  demonstrated  its  feasibility  practically  by  set- 
ting it  in  operation  and  for  four  years  conducting  its 
affairs  as  its  Secretary,  without  salary,  and,  in  a  manner 
that  commanded  the  confidence  of  the  church,  received 
the  unqualified  commendation  of  its  highest  judicatory, 
and  vindicated  for  it  a  place  among  the  permanent 
schemes  of  the  church;  and  still  cherishing  an  un- 
wavering confidence  in  its  ultimate  success,  notwith- 
standing the  apathy  of  some  and  the  discouragement 
of  others. 

On  the  day  before  his  death,  he  lectured  in  the  Sem- 
inary, as  usual,  and  with  his  accustomed  vivacity  and 
vigor.  The  next  morning,  the  community  was  startled 
with  the  intelligence  that  he  was  no  more. 

The  funeral  solemnities  were  conducted  partly  at 
Pittsburgh,  and  partly  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  his  ancestral 
home,  to  which  his  remains  were  conveyed  for  inter- 
ment. After  prayer  by  Rev.  Prof.  Samuel  T.  Lowrie, 
D.D.,  at  the  house  in  Allegheny,  where  Dr.  Jacobus 
had  so  long  resided,  the  sad  procession  moved  to  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Pittsburgh,  which   was 


thronged  in  every  part  by  a  deeply  sympathizing  audi- 
ence. Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Dr.  S.  F.  Scovel 
and  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge.  Appropriate  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture were  read  by  Rev.  Dr.  S.  J.  Niccols,  and  addresses 
were  made  by  Rev.  Dr.  Hornblower  and  Dr.  C.  C. 
Beatty.  When  these  services  were  ended,  the  bereaved 
family  took  the  train  for  the  East,  accompanied  by 
representatives  of  the  professors,  directors,  trustees,  and 
students  of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary,  and 
by  a  delegation  from  the  Cliosophic  Society  of  the 
College  of  New  Jersey.  At  the  appointed  hour,  the 
friends  assembled  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  George  A. 
Keen,  in  Newark,  where  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Craven;  who  also  conducted  the  devotional  exer- 
cises in  the  church,  aided  by  Rev.  Dr.  McCosh,  and 
Rev.  John  Hall,  D.D.,  of  New  York  City.  Addresses 
were  made  by  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.D.,  Rev. 
Prof.  Samuel  J.  Wilson,  D.D.,  and  Rev.  William 
Adams,  D.D. 

The  several  addresses  that  were  delivered  here  fol- 
low, in  their  order;  and  to  these  are  appended  a  few 
extracts  from  some  of  the  numerous  letters  received 
from  friends,  and  some  tributes  to  the  memory  of  Dr. 
Jacobus  by  different  associations. 


SERVICES 


IN 


THE    FIRST    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH, 


PITTSBURGH,    PA. 


ADDRESS   OF   THE  REV.    \V.    H.    HORNBLOWER,    D.D. 

"  Know  ye  not  that  there  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man  fallen  this  day  in 
Israel?"  —  2  Sam.  iii.  38. 

The  duty  of  addressing  you  to-day  has  been  devolved 
upon  me,  for  the  simple  reason  that  my  acquaintance 
with  him  we  mourn,  and  would  honor,  began  in  early 
boyhood,  and  extends  over  the  entire  period  of  his 
active  life.  Our  parents  were  members  of  the  same 
church;  our  fathers  were  both  elders  of  that  church; 
and  we  were  both  baptized  by  the  hands  of  the  same 
pastor,  the  Rev.  James  Richards,  D.D.,  afterwards  Pro- 
fessor in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Auburn,  N.  Y. 

My  review  of  the  first  part  of  his  life  is  greatly  aided 
by  an  autobiography  which  he  had  recently  begun. 

'  Melancthon  Williams  Jacobus,  born  in  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  Sept.  19th,  1816,  was  the  son  of  godly 
parents,  Peter  and  Phebe  Williams  Jacobus,  who  con- 
secrated him  in  his  infancy  to  the  holy  ministry.  He 
was  the  eldest  of  six  children.     The  character  of  his 


IO 

parents  may  be  judged  by  the  fact,  that  one  of  his  sisters, 
Elizabeth,  died  at  five  years  of  age,  "giving  marvellous 
evidence  of  the  Christian  life,"  as  he  writes  in  his 
manuscript.  I  remember  hearing  much  of  this  remark- 
able child,  and  reading  a  brief  memoir  of  her  life  that 
was  published  at  the  time  of  her  death. 

This  oldest  child,  consecrated  to  the  ministry  by 
his  pious  parents,  was  as  precocious  in  intellect  as  his 
younger  sister  was  in  piety.  At  eight  years  of  age  he 
was  studying  Latin  and  Greek,  at  the  then  famous 
"  Newark  Academy,"  taught  by  Abraham  Van  Doren, 
Principal,  and  his  talented  sons,  J.  Livingston,  Luther 
Halsey,  and  J.  Howard  Van  Doren,  Assistants.  Five 
years  later,  when  the  Newark  Academy  had  passed 
into  less  able  hands,  I  became  a  pupil  of  the  same  insti- 
tution, and  have  a  very  vivid  recollection  of  Melano 
thon  Jacobus.  Though  only  thirteen  years  of  age, 
his  associates  in  his  classes  were  much  older  than  him- 
self,—  some  of  them  no  longer  boys,  but  young  men. 
He  seemed  to  me,  therefore,  "one  of  the  big  bo}^s"; 
and  this  made  the  kind  attentions  he  bestowed  upon 
me  appear  as  a  graceful  condescension  on  his  part,  and 
an  honor  on  mine.  A  bright,  high-spirited,  quick- 
tempered boy,  wild  and  mischievous,  he  was  regarded 


II 


by  the  whole  school  as  a  leader  whom  it  was  chivalric 
to  imitate  and  follow.  He  was  not  the  standard  model 
of  a  "  good  boy."  Notwithstanding  the  pious  efforts 
of  his  parents,  and  the  attendance  on  weekly  prayer- 
meetings,  and  the  exercise  of  taking  notes  of  the  ser- 
mons on  Sunday  morning,  and  of  repeating  the  texts 
and  divisions  to  his  father,  and  of  writing  out  as  much 
of  the  sermon  as  he  could  recollect  on  Sunday  evenings, 
—  all  of  which  had  a  very  beneficial  effect  on  him, — 
his  too  intimate  association  with  the  large  number  of 
workmen  in  his  father's  employ  was  a  damaging  influ- 
ence; and,  as  he  himself  writes,  but  "for  the  grace  of 
God,"  might  have  wrought  his  ruin. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  sent  to  school  at  the 
Academy  in  Bloomfield,  N.  J.  His  father  was  induced 
to  send  him  there,  he  says,  because  at  that  very  time 
there  was  a  revival  of  religion  in  the  church  of  Bloom- 
field,  and  in  this  particular  school,  taught  by  Rev. 
Albert  Pierson.  Among  his  associates  in  this  school, 
he  mentions  the  names  of  three  candidates  for  the  min- 
istry, who  afterwards  became  distinguished  for  useful- 
ness—  Peter  Dougherty,  one  of  the  first  missionaries 
of  our  Presbyterian  Board  to  the  Indians,  and  who 
accomplished  a  work  among  some  bands  of  the  Chip- 


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pewas  and  Ottawas,  on  the  Grand  and  Little  Traverse 
Bays,  in  the  State  of  Michigan,  excelled  by  nothing  in 
the  annals  of  missionary  labor  among  American  In- 
dians; John  H.  Morrison,  who  to-day  is  the  oldest 
American  missionary,  still  active  and  useful,  in  India; 
and  Elias  J.  Richards,  a  man  of  rare  endowments,  a 
successful  pastor,  in  Paterson,  N.  J.,  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  and  in  Reading,  Pa.,  where  he  continued 
many  years,  and  ended  a  useful  life  six  years  ago. 
These  earnest  men  produced  a  profound  impression  on 
the  character  of  young  Jacobus.  But  their  influence, 
and  that  of  others  who  sought  to  win  him  for  Christ, 
was  counteracted  b}'  that  of  a  physician  with  whom 
he  boarded,  and  who  dissuaded  him  from  attending 
the  revival  meetings.  But  he  could  not  resist  the 
power  of  God's  Spirit.  A  strong  conviction,  that 
"godliness  is  profitable  for  this  world  as  well  as  for 
the  world  to  come,"  led  him  to  resolve  to  seek  the 
great  salvation.  Manfully  he  confessed  his  purpose  to 
his  medical  friend,  who  replied,  "  If  you  go  to  the 
meetings,  I  will  go  with  you."  The  result  was  the 
conversion  of  both  of  them. 

In  the  Seminary  chapel,  about  a  year  ago,  Dr.  Ja- 
cobus related  his  experience  in  this  happy  change  of 


13 

his  life.  Those  who  heard  him  will  recall  it  in  the 
less  full  and  animated  account  contained  in  his  manu- 
script: "I  strove  to  find  peace;  to  get  a  hope,  as  it 
was  called.  I  heard  of  frames  and  processes  through 
which  others  had  passed,  —  tears,  darkness,  deep  con- 
victions of  sin,  followed  by  sudden  light.  I  could  get 
no  such  coveted  exercises.  I  fell  upon  my  knees  in 
my  chamber,  read  Nettleton's  Village  Hymns  and  the 
Bible,  if  possibly  the  conviction  and  tears  and  agony 
might  come  as  with  others.  But  no !  The  more  I 
labored  for  such  a  hope,  the  more  impossible  it  was 
to  me,  till  at  length  I  said  to  myself,  ?  If  I  cannot  be 
saved  without  passing  through  such  processes,  I  can- 
not be  saved  at  all,'  when  the  thought  flashed  across 
me,  ?Thou  fool!  looking  for  your  spectacles  when 
they  are  on  your  nose.  Jesus  has  wept  and  agonized 
and  died  for  me,  and  all  this  preparation  and  provision 
is  completed  for  me  by  Him! '  Here  I  rested  in  Christ 
and  His  finished  work.     Oh,  blessed  thought! " 

At  this  time  the  great  and  apostolical  Dr.  Nettleton 
was  holding  meetings  in  Newark.  It  was  at  one  of 
these  meetings  that  I  again  met  my  old  school  friend. 
We  were  seated  in  the  same  pew,  in  the  gallery  of  the 
old  First  Church,  and  after  the  meeting  he  addressed 


me  very  faithfully  and  affectionately  about  my  soul. 
He  made  several  efforts  afterwards  to  bring  me  to 
Christ;  and,  though  they  were  not  successful  efforts, 
they  left  a  deep  impression  on  my  heart,  and  I  ever 
after  entertained  for  him  a  peculiar  regard.  He  was 
the  first  one,  near  my  own  age,  who  ever  seemed  to 
care  for  my  soul. 

Previous  to  his  conversion,  he  had  intended  to  study 
law.  But  "  now  his  purpose  was  suddenly  and  posi- 
tively changed."  There  was  no  "  attraction  to  him  for 
the  ministry,"  he  says,  "  in  a  secular  and  a  social  point 
of  view."  But  the  divine  call  could  not  be  resisted. 
When  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  he  was  received  into 
the  full  communion  of  the  First  Church  of  Newark. 
On  account  of  his  youth,  the  Session  hesitated  to  admit 
him,  and  held  his  application  under  consideration  for 
three  months  before  they  granted  his  request. 

In  the  month  of  September,  183 1,  when  still  lacking 
a  few  days  of  his  fifteenth  year,  he  entered  the  Sopho- 
more Class  of  Princeton  College.  Though  the  young- 
est member  of  his  class,  he  carried  off  its  highest  honors 
in  each  successive  year.  He,  with  Parke  Godwin,  — 
now  known  as  editor  of  the  "  New  York  Post "  and  a 
writer  of  History,  —  and  the  now  sainted  Elias  J.  Rich- 


i5 

ards,  were  representatives  of  the  Cliosophic  Society, 
among  the  junior  orators  of  his  class.  At  his  grad- 
uation, he  shared  the  first  honor  with  Edward  Pendle- 
ton, of  Martin sburgh,  W.  Va.  At  that  time  it  was  the 
custom  in  Princeton  College  to  bestow  certain  honors, 
distinguished  as  first,  second,  &c,  and  each  honor  was 
often  divided  among  a  number  of  competitors.  To 
take  the  first  honor  solus  was  regarded  as  a  great  dis- 
tinction. In  the  case  of  Mr.  Jacobus,  although  Mr. 
Pendleton  shared  the  honor  with  him,  yet,  on  account 
of  his  youth  and  other  circumstances,  it  was  judged 
that  his  merit  was  equal  to  that  of  taking  the  first  honor 
solus  ;  and  the  Cliosophic  Society  conferred  upon  him 
a  mark  of  appreciation  to  which  this  distinction  would 
have  entitled  him.  At  the  time  of  his  graduation,  when 
not  quite  eighteen  years  of  age,  the  Trustees  of  Prince- 
ton College  elected  him  a  tutor.  He  was  pressed  to 
accept  the  position;  but,  by  the  advice  of  Dr.  James 
Richards,  determined  to  lose  no  time  in  preparing  him- 
self for  the  gospel  ministry. 

After  his  graduation  from  college,  he  spent  a  year 
in  his  father's  office.  Here  he  developed  such  extraor- 
dinary business  talent  that  his  best  friends  urged  him 
to  relinquish  his  intentions  of  studying  for  the  ministry, 


i6 

and  devote  himself  to  mercantile  pursuits.  Even  his 
pious  father,  who  had  consecrated  him  to  the  ministry, 
impressed  by  his  genius  for  business,  urged  upon  him 
a  partnership  in  his  own  prosperous  manufactory. 
:?Yet,"  he  says,  "I  was  never  for  a  moment  moved 
even  to  doubt  about  my  great  high-calling  to  the 
ministry." 

In  the  fall  of  1835,  he  entered  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Princeton,  N.  J.  His  course  here  was  as  success- 
ful as  it  had  been  in  the  college.  Among  his  associates 
were  men  who  have  risen  to  the  highest  distinction  in 
the  church.  He  was  one  of  a  private  class  instructed 
by  Dr.  J.  Addison  Alexander  "  in  special  Hebrew 
studies."  "  This  elegant  scholar,"  he  says,  referring  to 
Dr.  J.  Addison  Alexander,  frtook  a  lively  interest  in 
me,  and  gave  into  my  hands  the  Book  of  Malachi,  to 
prepare  a  commentary,  which  I  did,  in  my  way. 
This  exercise  seemed  to  direct  my  studies  in  the 
department  of  exegesis,  and  thus  a  taste  was  developed 
for  this  kind  of  investigation." 

At  the  end  of  his  seminary  course,  he  was  invited 
to  remain  as  "  tutor  in  Hebrew,  and  assistant  of  Dr. 
J.  Addison  Alexander."     This  offer  was  accepted. 

He  became,  at  this  time,  an  intimate  friend  of  the 


17 

celebrated  Hebraist,  Dr.  Isaac  Nordheimer,  who  in- 
ducted him  into  the  study  of  Arabic  and  Syriac.  Dr. 
Nordheimer  enlisted  him  as  an  assistant  in  several  lin- 
guistic projects  he  had  in  view,  but  which  he  did  not 
live  to  complete. 

His  career  in  the  Seminary  covered  the  period  of 
the  greatest  convulsion  in  our  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  issued  in  the  division  of  the  Church  into  two 
parties,  —  the  New  and  the  Old  School.  Here  the 
firmness  of  his  own  convictions  was  again  tried.  All 
his  friends  in  Newark  were  "  strongly  in  sympathy 
with  the  party  which  was  led  b}'  Dr.  Fisher  and  Dr. 
Richards.  But  my  own  mind,"  he  says,  "  was  fixed 
on  the  side  of  the  standards  and  the  true  succession,  as 
I  understood  it."  Though  he  dismisses  the  whole  sub- 
ject, in  his  manuscript,  in  the  single  sentence  I  have 
quoted,  I  have  no  doubt  he  suffered  more,  and  displayed 
more  heroism,  in  adhering  to  his  convictions  than  he 
chose,  in  these  days  of  a  reunited  church,  to  record. 

In  the  year  of  his  tutorship,  1839,  ^e  was  licensed 
to  preach  the  gospel  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Bruns- 
wick. At  that  time,  the  students  of  Princeton  were 
not  permitted  to  receive  license  till  arrived  at  the  end 
of  the  three  years'  course  in  the  Seminary.     Neither 

3 


were  they  suffered  to  exercise  their  gifts  in  preaching, 
except  in  the  class-room,  or  in  the  way  of  addresses 
and  speeches  at  prayer-meetings  and  Sunday-schools. 
Dr.  Jacobus  complains  of  this,  and  feelingly  describes 
the  hardship  of  being  suddenly  thrust  into  the  pulpit, 
without  any  previous  experience  in  the  delivery  of  ser- 
mons to  a  promiscuous  congregation. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1839,  he  was,  most 
unexpectedly  to  himself,  called  to  the  pastorship  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Here 
his  own  manuscript  ends.  Two  or  three  pages  before 
this  ending  is  this  sadly  interesting  note:  "September 
19,  1876.  This  day  —  a  brilliant  sky  and  invigorating 
air  —  I  am  sixty  years  old,  writing  these  reminiscences 
of  early  life,  thankful  to  a  covenant  God  for  His  great 
goodness,  wherewith  He  has  distinguished  my  lot,  and 
hopeful  for  other  years  of  usefulness P 

Alas!  that  hopefulness  for  other  "years  of  useful- 
ness "  was  not  to  be  realized.  It  is  pleasant  to  know 
that  he  was  not  depressed  and  haunted  with  painful 
dread  of  the  impending  event;  that  he  had  no  gloomy 
forebodings  of  the  fact  that,  instead  of  "years"  only 
five  weeks  remained  for  "  usefulness  "  on  earth.  And 
yet   how  sad  for  us,  that  a  life  so   full   of  spirit  and 


19 

energy  was  to  be  so  soon  and  suddenly  terminated; 
the  pen  of  the  ready  writer,  to  fall  from  the  skilful 
hand;  and  the  "reminiscences,"  begun  with  such  lively 
interest,  to  perish  for  ever  beyond  the  power  of  human 
recovery! 

What  remains  of  the  public  life  of  Dr.  Jacobus  has 
already  been  written  and  published.  We  need  not 
recapitulate  the  details.  In  the  church,  in  its  contro- 
versies, in  its  benevolent  enterprises,  in  its  ecclesiasti- 
cal courts,  he  has  been  an  active  participant.  He  has 
attained  the  highest  ecclesiastical  honors  that  could  be 
conferred  upon  him.  The  scholastic  degrees  of  D.D. 
and  LL.D.  adorn  his  name.  He  is  associated,  histori- 
cally, with  the  grandest  event  in  the  history  of  our 
church, —  as  Moderator  of  the  Old  School  Assembly  at 
the  time  of  the  reunion;  at  the  meetings  of  the  General 
Assembly  in  1869,  in  May  at  New  York,  and  in 
November  at  Pittsburgh;  in  the  union  meeting  of  both 
Assemblies  in  the  Third  Church  of  Pittsburgh;  and  as 
Moderator  at  the  opening  of  the  reunited  Assembly  in 
Philadelphia,  May,  1870.  The  dignity,  the  wisdom, 
the  piety,  he  displayed  at  this  period  were  universally 
admired;  and  the  speeches  he  delivered  and  the  public 
prayers  he  offered,  in  his  official  character  as  Modera- 


20 

tor,  were  of  such  superlative  excellence  that  many, 
and  among  them  some  who  were  not  carried  away 
with  the  enthusiastic  fever  for  reunion,  were  disposed 
to  regard  him  as  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 
His  published  writings,  emphatically  his  commentaries, 
have  extended  his  fame  to  Europe,  and  will  communi- 
cate it  to  ages  to  come.  All  these  facts  have  passed 
into  history. 

But  you  who  are  assembled  here  to-day  are  mourning 
for  him  as  a  genial  friend,  a  popular  preacher,  and,  to 
some  of  you,  in  former  years  a  dearly  beloved  pastor. 
The  versatility  of  his  mind  never  appeared  to  better 
advantage  than  in  the  pulpit  and  at  the  prayer-meeting, 
or  on  occasions  that  called  for  impromptu  speech.  His 
extraordinary  tact  enabled  him  to  adapt  himself  to  all 
circumstances;  and  the  rapidity  of  his  mental  action 
seized  on  every  passing  incident,  and  derived  advan- 
tage from  the  unexpected  events  and  surroundings 
that  would  have  embarrassed  an  ordinary  man.  He 
was  semper  par atus.  One  unfailing  resource  with  him 
in  all  emergencies  was  his  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
English  Bible.  This  prince  among  scholars  and  eccle- 
siastics rose  above  all  his  peers  in  other  departments 
of  learning,  by  his  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  Word 


21 


of  God.  The  facility  and  aptness  of  his  Scripture 
quotations  were  as  surprising  as  they  were  edifying. 
Who  can  forget  the  rich  and  beautiful  recitations  of 
Bible  sentences  beside  the  sick-bed  and  at  the  burial 
of  the  dead?  How  we  miss  his  voice  and  his  Script- 
ure citations  to-day!  "Would,"  exclaimed  one  who 
spoke  what  many  have  thought,  —  "would  that  what 
he  uttered  at  Dr.  Howard's  funeral  was  written  down, 
that  it  might  be  repeated  word  for  word  at  his  own ! " 

Another  source  of  his  appropriateness  in  his  addresses 
and  speeches  was  his  quick  sympathy  with  others. 
He  took  their  measure,  entered  into  their  minds,  and 
felt  with  them  as  well  as  for  them.  In  his  sermons 
he  bridged  over  the  distance  between  the  pulpit  and 
the  pews,  and  lost  his  own  personality  in  the  aggregate 
mass  of  the  congregation,  speaking  to  them  as  if  he 
himself  were  one  of  them;  so  that  sometimes  his  ser- 
mons and  addresses  had  much  of  the  effect  of  a  col- 
loquy between  himself  and  the  people.  He  would 
anticipate  objections  that  they  might  make,  or  ques- 
tions they  might  ask,  and  put  them  into  words  for 
them;  or  he  would  ask  them  questions,  and  answer  in 
their  place.  Sometimes  a  succession  of  questions 
would  follow  each  other,  each  one  answered  with  his 


22 

quick,  emphatic  "yes  "  or  w  no,''  without  once  allowing 
his  voice  to  descend  into  the  falling  inflection,  so  that 
his  discourse  was  like  an  animated  and  continuous 
conversation.  Another  evidence  of  his  practical  knowl- 
edge of  men,  and  of  his  habit  of  preaching  to  the  aver- 
age man,  was  the  exhibition  of  the  same  truth  over 
and  over  again,  in  a  great  variety  of  aspects.  Some- 
times he  never  got  beyond  the  first  simple  proposition 
or  idea  with  which  his  sermon  began.  It  was  pre- 
sented in  different  lights  and  colors  and  relations;  his 
fancy  playing  about  it,  producing  often  sudden  and 
surprising  kaleidoscopic  effects,  or  the  subject  passing 
through  a  succession  of  dissolving  views.  The  rhet- 
orician might  regard  this  as  a  homiletical  fault;  but, 
in  the  man  who  addresses  the  people,  it  is  an  invaluable 
element  of  success,  such  as  William  Pitt  and  Thomas 
Chalmers  studied  to  effect.  Dr.  Jacobus  preached  a 
sermon  in  this  pulpit,  one  evening,  of  which  a  critic 
truthfully  remarked,  "There  was  nothing  in  the  whole 
sermon  that  was  not  substantially  contained  in  the  first 
five  minutes  of  its  delivery."  The  next  evening,  at  the 
young  men's  prayer-meeting  in  the  room  behind  this 
pulpit,  all  the  remarks  and  prayers  were  tinctured,  col- 
ored, permeated,  with  the  sermon  of  the  previous  even- 


23 

ing.  Those  who  spoke  and  prayed  did  not  appear 
conscious  of  the  fact;  at  least,  there  was  not  a  single 
direct  allusion  made  to  the  sermon  or  the  preacher. 
But  the  one  thought  of  that  sermon  had  got  into  their 
thoughts  and  hearts,  without  their  knowing  it.  Dr. 
Jacobus  understood  that,  in  preaching  to  the  average 
man,  it  is  not  enough  to  present  a  truth  clearly  and 
prove  it  incontestably,  but  that  it  must  be  driven  home 
into  the  man's  soul  by  reiterated  blows  of  the  rhetorical 
hammer. 

The  adaptation  of  his  ordinary  sermons  and  addresses 
to  the  people  consisted,  again,  in  avoiding  a  severely 
logical  structure  or  a  brilliant  display  of  imaginative 
power.  His  logic,  discarding  artificial  forms,  was 
addressed  to  the  common  sense,  the  ordinary  judg- 
ments, of  men;  and  his  motives,  to  the  affections,  prin- 
ciples, and  passions  that  characterize  our  human  nature. 
In  some  of  his  earlier  sermons,  the  creative  faculty  was 
largely  employed.  I  remember  one,  preached  in  the 
First  Church  of  Newark,  on  the  Foundation  Stones  of 
the  New  Jerusalem,  in  which  there  was  much  novelty, 
and  some  fine  flights  of  imagination.  He  has  told  me 
that,  at  that  period  of  his  life,  he  often  sought  out  new 
paths,   and    aimed   at    originality  and    striking  effects. 


24 

But  the  wise  counsels  of  that  great  man,  Dr.  James  W. 
Alexander,  who  regarded  him  in  his  youth  with  affec- 
tionate interest,  led  him  to  correct  this  tendency,  and 
regard  chiefly  the  practical  results  of  preaching,  — 
to  aim  at  benefiting  rather  than  pleasing  his  hearers. 
But  though  he  preached  old  truths,  and  made  practical 
applications,  he  always  employed  new  materials  to 
render  them  fresh  and  vigorous;  and  so  illuminated 
them  by  the  play  of  his  fancy  that  no  hearer,  of  what- 
ever degree  of  intellectuality  or  culture,  could  fail  to 
be  interested  and  instructed.  He  was,  indeed,  a  "scribe 
instructed  unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  like  unto  a 
man  that  is  an  householder,  which  bringeth  forth  out 
of  his  treasure  things  new  and  old."  —  Matt.  xiii.  52. 
There  have  been  more  eloquent  preachers,  —  preach- 
ers with  larger  and  higher  gifts  of  orator}' ;  but  never 
was  Dr.  Jacobus  excelled  as  a  successful  preacher  to 
those  classes  of  intellectual  and  business  men  who  con- 
stitute the  mass  of  our  Presbyterian  Church.  And,  in 
debate  and  discussion  in  ecclesiastical  assemblies,  the 
fertility  of  his  mind,  the  vehemence  of  his  feelings, 
and  the  rapidity  with  which  he  caught  ideas  and 
grasped  conclusions,  gave  him  extraordinary  effec- 
tiveness. 


25 

How  can  we  speak  as  we  ought  of  Dr.  Jacobus  in 
his  connection  with  the  Western  Theological  Semi- 
nary? We  must  leave  it  to  others  to  tell  how  much 
that  institution  owes  to  him;  and  we  must  leave  it  to 
the  students  who  have  graduated  there  to  tell  what  his 
personal  power  on  the  ministers  of  the  church  and 
of  the  age  has  effected.  Our  grief  at  his  loss  is  inten- 
sified, because  we  had  just,  as  it  were,  received  him 
back  again  to  the  chair  that  he  had  almost  vacated, 
and,  with  hopes  of  increased  usefulness,  concentrating 
all  his  abilities  in  his  professorial  work,  and  resuming 
it  with  apparently  re-established  health  and  a  new 
fervor  of  enthusiasm  and  spiritual  consecration.  I 
doubt  if  ever  the  Faculty  entered  on  a  new  session 
with  greater  satisfaction  or  higher  hopes:  each  mem- 
ber of  it  in  health,  and  the  others  strengthened  by 
the  assurance  that  our  senior  Professor — our  head 
and  chief,  our  prince  —  could  not  be  charmed  away 
from  us. 

As  the  genial  friend,  Dr.  Jacobus  was  loved  by 
many.  In  the  more  intimate  and  sacred  relations  of 
his  household,  we  have  only  to  say  to  those  who  could 
not  judge  for  themselves,  that  it  would  be  impossible 


26 


to  exaggerate  the  tenderness  of  his  love,  the  sweetness 
of  his  temper,  the  cheerfulness  of  his  disposition,  and 
the  unselfishness  of  his  consideration  for  others.  His 
home  was  bright  with  sunshine,  and  all  who  entered  it 
were  irradiated  with  its  happiness. 

This  prince  among  men,  among  scholars,  and  among 
divines,  has  ascended  into  the  higher  glory,  to  receive 
a  new  diadem.  Without  pain,  —  or  more  than  slight 
sensations  of  faintness  and  exhaustion,  —  in  an  instant 
he  passed  away  from  earth,  working  to  the  last 
moment:  at  Synod  last  week,  one  of  the  most  active 
members,  speaking  often  and  with  all  his  usual  anima- 
tion; in  his  class-rooms  last  week,  never  more  inter- 
ested and  instructive  than  during  the  last  hour  he  spent 
with  the  Junior  Class  on  Friday  morning;  no  time  lost 
by  prolonged  sickness,  he  was  translated  in  an  instant 
from  work  to  rest,  and  is  not,  for  God  hath  taken  him. 

When  we  lose  our  friends,  our  memories  linger  ten- 
derly about  the  last  events  of  their  lives;  and  in  these, 
often,  we  find  evidences  of  a  special  Providence,  shap- 
ing and  preparing  things  for  the  approaching  end,  that 
neither  they  nor  we  had  apprehended.  So  is  it  in  the 
case  of  Dr.  Jacobus. 


27 


The  opening  address  of  the  present  term  of  the 
Western  Theological  Seminary  was  delivered  by  him. 
His  theme,  —  "Bible  Study:  Professional  and  Popular." 
The  substance  of  this  address  was  afterwards  published, 
in  four  successive  articles,  in  the  "Presbyterian  Banner." 

At  the  last  Saturday  prayer- meeting  and  conference 
before  his  death,  in  the  Seminary  Chapel,  Dr.  Jacobus 
presided,  and  addressed  the  students  with  unusual 
animation.1 

The  last  sermon  he  preached  was  delivered  in  the 
Second  Church  of  Steubenville,  Ohio,  Oct.  8th,  1876,  on 
the  text,  Acts  x.  38:  "Who  went  about  doing  good."2 
The  last  sermon  heard  by  the  members  of  his  own 
family  was  delivered  in  Dr.  Swift's  pulpit,  First  Church 
of  Allegheny,  Aug.  13th,  1876.  The  text  was  Hebrews 
vii.  25 :  "  Wherefore  He  is  able  also  to  save  them  to 
the  uttermost  that  come  unto  God  by  Him,  seeing  He 
ever   liveth   to   make   intercession    for   them."     In  the 

1  This  meeting  was  a  fortnight  before  the  Saturday  of  his  death.  On 
the  intervening  Saturday,  the  meeting  was  omitted  on  account  of  the  absence 
of  the  professors  at  Synods. 

2  The  last  sermon  preached  to  his  former  pastoral  charge,  the  Central 
Church  of  Pittsburgh,  was  on  the  significant  text,  "  Your  Fathers,  where 
are  they?  and  the  Prophets,  do  they  live  for  ever?"  —  Zech.  i.  5. 


28 

manuscript  the  words  "  to  the  uttermost "  are  empha- 
sized by  having  the  original  Greek  words  written  above 
them,  —  et<?  to  7ravTe\e<i.  The  last  head  of  the  sermon 
is,  "Jesus  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  limit  of  this 
mortal  existence  P  And  the  last  words  are  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  Christian's  experience  in  the  final  moment 
of  life:  "At  that  uttermost  extremity,  when  all  earthly 
helpers  must  give  up  and  can  do  no  further  work  of 
relief  or  of  salvation,  Jesus  goes  on  to  save,  —  triumphs 
there  as  the  only  Saviour,  displays  His  supreme  and 
matchless  ability  to  save  through  and  through.  Where 
Death  and  the  Grave  defy  any  and  all  others,  see  how 
He  saves  to  the  very  completion,  saves  from  the  bitter- 
ness and  sting  of  death,  saves  even  from  the  fear  of 
death,  saves  from  impatience  and  repining  amidst  the 
dying  agonies,  saves  from  all  those  overwhelming  anxi- 
eties that  you  would  think  must  make  the  death-bed 
of  a  fond  parent  so  terrible!  .  .  .  And  then  you  see 
the  salvation  in  the  triumphant  calm  and  peace  wrought 
out  for  the  departing  spirit.  And  victory  sits  upon  the 
brow,  and  a  longing,  longing  for  the  heavenly  home 
seems  to  throw  the  fondest  earthly  home  into  the 
shade.  And  the  heavenly  society,  the  kindred  and 
friends  who  are  there,  seem  so  ineffably  attractive  as 


29 

to  make  those  dear  ones  that  were  most  doted  on  here 
only  secondary  and  inferior  in  their  charms.  And  all 
this  is  the  proof,  the  shining  proof,  that  Jesus  is  able  to 
save  to  the  uttermost.  And  the  secret  of  all  this  is, 
that  yonder  in  heaven,  at  the  Father's  side,  He  is  busy 
in  His  intercessions,  —  the  living  Saviour,  actively 
officiating  for  His  dying  children,  where  the  dying 
Stephen  saw  Him,  —  praying  that  they  may  be  with 
Him  where  He  is,  that  they  may  behold  His  glory! 
And  so  He  comes  down  and  meets  them  in  the  dark 
valley,  with  His  shepherd's  rod  and  staff;  and  stands 
at  the  dying  bed,  vanquishing  Satan  and  hushing  his 
malicious  accusations,  and  whispering,  Peace!  And 
His  own  Spirit,  the  blessed  Third  Person  of  the  Trin- 
ity, is  making  responsive  intercessions  in  the  heart, 
with  groanings  that  cannot  be  uttered;  taking  of  the 
things  of  Christ,  and  showing  them  to  the  inward  sight, 
while  the  natural  eye  is  sealing  up  in  death,  —  opening 
the  vision  to  celestial  glories  at  the  very  moment  that 
it  is  utterly  closed  to  earth. 

"  'Trembling,  hoping,  lingering,  flying, 
Oh,  the  pain,  the  bliss  of  dying  ! '  " 

"  'Oh  !  had  we  learned  what  death  alone  brings  nigh, 
The  dread  had  been  to  live,  and  not  to  die.'  " 


3° 

The  last  texts  of  Scripture  that  connect  themselves 
with  him  who  was  so  full  of  texts,  and  so  quick  and 
wonderfully  apt  in  their  citation,  were  precisely  those 
he  himself  might  have  chosen.  "  The  Silent  Com- 
forter," a  roll  containing  texts  for  every  day,  and  indi- 
cating chapters  for  daily  reading,  hangs  in  his  study, 
and  bears  the  marks  of  constant  use.  It  was  found 
open  for  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  the  month,  —  the 
day  of  his  translation.  Probably  he  himself  the  night 
before  had  turned  the  leaf,  that  his  eye  might  rest  on 
the  right  page  in  the  morning.  It  was  at  least  a  pleas- 
ant coincidence  that  the  texts  his  eye  last  rested  on 
and  the  Scriptures  for  that  day's  reading  were  these:  — 

Job  xix.  25-27:  "For  I  know  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth,  and  that  He  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon 
the  earth:  and  though  after  my  skin  worms  destroy 
this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God:  whom  I 
shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and 
not  another;  though  my  reins  be  consumed  within 
me." 

Psalm  xvii.  15:  "As  for  me,  I  will  behold  Thy  face 
in  righteousness:  I  shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake 
with  Thy  likeness." 

The  Scripture  lessons  were  Psalm  xvi.  and  1  Thes- 


3i 

salonians  iv.  The  last  subject  I  happened  to  hear  him 
discussing,  in  conversation  with  his  associate  professor, 
Dr.  Lowrie,  was  the  Messianic  character  of  this  six- 
teenth Psalm.  In  that  Psalm  occur  the  words,  "  The 
lines  are  fallen  unto  me  in  pleasant  places;  yea,  I  have 
a  goodly  heritage; "  and  the  last  words  are,  "Thou 
wilt  show  me  the  path  of  life:  in  Thy  presence  is  ful- 
ness of  joy;  at  Thy  right  hand  there  are  pleasures  for 
evermore."  The  fourth  chapter  of  i  Thessalonians 
ends  with  these  glorious  words,  that  have  already  been 
read  to  you:  "But  I  would  not  have  you  to  be  igno- 
rant, brethren,  concerning  them  that  are  asleep,  that  ye 
sorrow  not,  even  as  others  which  have  no  hope.  For 
if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so 
them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with 
Him.  For  this  we  say  unto  you  by  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  that  we  which  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the 
coming  of  the  Lord  shall  not  prevent  them  which  are 
asleep.  For  the  Lord  Himself  shall  descend  from 
heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel, 
and  with  the  trump  of  God:  and  the  dead  in  Christ 
shall  rise  first:  then  we  which  are  alive  and  remain 
shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them  in  the  clouds, 
to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air:  and  so  shall  we  ever  be 


32 

with  the  Lord.  Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with 
these  words  P 

The  last  evening  of  his  life  was  partly  occupied  in 
writing  to  those  he  loved.  There  were  found  lying 
upon  his  desk,  the  next  day,  sealed,  stamped,  and 
addressed,  —  a  letter  to  his  well-beloved  physician,  a 
letter  to  his  second  daughter,  and  a  postal  card  to  his 
younger  son.  In  these  two  last,  after  speaking,  in  his 
playful,  punning  fashion,  of  a  toothache  from  which 
he  was  suffering,  he  used  these  remarkable  words: 
"  I  hope,  providentially,  to  be  relieved  on  the  morrow." 
It  is  singular  that  he  should  have  introduced  that  word 
"  providentially."  Doubtless  it  gave  point  to  the  humor 
of  the  moment.  Yet  we  may  almost  believe  that 
it  was  dictated  by  some  hidden  inner  consciousness, 
unrecognized  by  himself,  but  dimly  affected  by  the 
shadow  of  that  absolute  and  eternal  relief  from  all  pain 
that  was  silently  approaching.     . 

The  very  last  utterance  that  passed  his  lips,  the  last 
word  to  which  he  gave  audible  voice,  was  the  name  of 
her  who  was  dearest  to  him  of  all  on  earth, — that 
wife  whose  form  suggests  the  image  of  the  fragile  reed 
that  bends  before  a  zephyr's  breath,  but  whose  womanly 
faculty  made  her  a  staff  of  strength  to  support  her  hus- 


33 

band's  steps  in  every  hour  of  trial,  trouble,  and  distress. 
God  help  her  now,  and  be  to  her  a  tower  of  strength! 

We  have  spoken  of  the  last  things  in  the  earthly 
career  of  this  departed  prince  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
But  let  us  not  forget  that,  in  the  chain  of  endless  causa- 
tion, there  are  no  last  links:  there  are  subtile  connec- 
tions between  the  life  that  now  is  and  that  which  is  to 
come;  and,  had  we  the  keener  perception  to  trace  them, 
we  would  learn,  doubtless,  that  the  transitions  of  death 
do  not  produce  the  abrupt  and  violent  changes  they  seem 
to  involve.  Dr.  Jacobus  once,  in  one  of  his  sermons, 
illustrated  the  unbroken  continuity  of  the  believer's  life, 
begun  on  earth  and  prolonged  in  heaven,  by  a  bold  ref- 
erence to  crossing  the  Allegheny  suspension  bridge. 
Looking  up  from  his  manuscript,  with  his  countenance 
all  aglow,  in  his  quick,  nervous  tones,  he  exclaimed, 
"What  is  it  for  the  Christian  to  die?  It  is  only  cross- 
ing the  suspension  bridge.  The  bridge  is  wrapped  in 
Pittsburgh  mist  and  smoke.  You  can't  see  what  lies 
beyond  it.  A  stranger  hesitates  to  cross  it.  But, 
impelled  to  go  forward,  he  passes  over  it;  and  what 
then?  Why,  the  street  goes  straight  on,  with  the 
houses   on   both   sides,  and   objects   in  view  similar  to 

5 


34 

those  he  left  on  this  side.  He  has  only  changed  posi- 
tions from  one  side  of  the  river  to  the  other.  He  has 
not  changed  his  life,  his  work,  or  his  inward  self.  And 
so  death  is  only  crossing  the  bridge  from  one  city  to 
another,  from  one  street  to  another.  The  Christian 
who  is  living  for  God,  working  for  God,  and  loving 
God,  here  on  this  side  of  the  dark  river,  continues  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river  to  live  for  God,  work  for 
God,  and  love  God.  It  is  a  continuous  life,  continuous 
work,  continuous  communion  in  the  love  of  God!" 
And  so  let  us  think  of  him  now  that  he  himself  has 
crossed  the  bridge  to  that  other  city.  He  is  the  same 
man  he  was,  with  the  same  objects  of  pursuit  before 
him,  —  the  glory  of  God  in  the  kingdom  of  His  dear 
Son;  the  same  motives  impelling  him  to  action, — 
faith,  hope,  charity;  and  the  same  rewards  in  the  expe- 
riences of  his  own  soul,  for  "the  kingdom  of  God"  — 
both  here  and  there  —  "  is  within  us  "  (Luke  xvii.  21)  ; 
"  for  the  kingdom  of  God  is  righteousness,  and  peace, 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost"  (Rom.  xiv.  17).  There 
are  no  absolute,  radical,  essential  changes  wrought  in 
the  soul  of  the  Christian  by  the  agency  of  death.  He 
who  consecrated  his  life  to  God  in  childhood,  and  kept 
his  consecration  vows  down  to  the  border-land  of  old 


35 

age,  has  passed  into  a  higher  sphere  from  the  stage  of 
preparation  here;  carrying  with  him  his  intellectual  fac- 
ulties, his  human  affections,  and  his  spiritual  graces, — 
not  to  be  destroyed,  but  purified,  elevated,  sublimated, 
and  glorified,  and  still  consecrated  to  God,  and  employed 
in  His  service. 

Let  us  remember,  finally,  that,  though  his  last  acts 
and  words  on  earth  are  complete,  their  results  are  not 
yet  finished.  The  Christian,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh. 
And  the  Christian  hero  we  mourn  and  commemorate 
to-day  has  left  words  and  works  that  possess  in  them 
an  indestructible  vitality.  His  contributions  to  Christian 
literature,  and  especially  to  his  favorite  department  of 
study,  the  exposition  of  inspired  Scripture,  will  con- 
tinue his  influence  wherever  the  English  language  is 
read,  and,  like  other  writings  of  that  class,  can  never 
wholly  lose  their  value.  The  sermons  he  preached 
survive  in  the  hearts  of  Christian  converts,  to  be 
preached  over  again  in  their  lives  and  words,  to  exer- 
cise converting  power  in  an  endless  succession  of  those 
added  to  the  church,  who  shall  be  saved.  The  instruc- 
tions of  his  class-room  survive  in  the  ministers  they 
helped  to  fashion  and  furnish  for  the  work  of  extending 


36 

the  gospel  to  the  ends  of  the  world.  And  the  germ- 
seeds  of  truth  he  was  sowing  day  by  day  in  the  words 
he  so  aptly  spoke,  —  words  like  apples  of  gold  in  bas- 
kets of  silver,  —  words  in  which  he  knew  so  well  how 
to  condense  doctrine  in  proverbs,  and  epigrammatic 
phrases,  and  antithetical  sentences,  often  humorous, 
sometimes  of  the  keener-tempered  metal  of  wit,  —  inci- 
sive words,  penetrating  even  dull  minds,  and  inhering 
in  reluctant  memories,  —  those  germ-seeds  will  fructify 
and  reproduce  their  kindred  seed  in  years  and  genera- 
tions and  ages  yet  to  come. 

Especially  must  the  great  work  to  which  he  devoted 
the  best  part  of  his  life  go  on,  accelerated  by  the 
impulse  he  has  given  to  it.  To  raise  up  a  pious,  edu- 
cated, and  efficient  ministry,  he  employed  his  intellect- 
ual faculties,  contributed  his  large  stores  of  Biblical 
knowledge,  generously  distributed  his  worldly  fortune, 
and  labored  in  prayer  night  and  day;  and  speaking  to 
us  now,  with  all  the  appealing  power  of  his  own  life 
so  unselfishly  consecrated  to  this  work,  he  seems  to  be 
exhorting,  as  in  the  words  of  the  Apostle  Paul  to  his 
son  Timothy:  "And  the  things  that  thou  hast  heard  of 
me,  the  same  commit  thou  to  faithful  men,  who  shall 
be  able  to  teach  others  also"  (2  Tim.  ii.  2).     To  train 


37 

"  faithful  men,"  "  able  to  teach  others,"  he  gave  money, 
prayer,  wise  counsel,  executive  ability,  intellectual 
effort,  unceasing  toil,  and,  finally,  exhausting  the  ner- 
vous power  of  the  physical  man  by  unremitted  work, 
life  itself.  To  us  he  has  left  the  responsible  duty  of 
pursuing  with  tireless  zeal  and  prompt  energy  the 
work  he  pursued  "  with  his  harness  on  "  to  the  last  day 
of  his  life.  May  God  make  us  faithful  in  fulfilling  the 
trust  that  in  this  sudden  providence  is  committed  to 
our  hands  and  hearts,  —  hands  feebler,  doubtless,  than 
those  now  still  and  helpless!  but  let  us  pray  that  our 
hearts  may  not  be  less  warm  and  enthusiastic  than  his. 
Death  has  chosen  a  shining  mark,  and  extinguished  a 
burning  and  a  shining  light  in  our  beloved  church. 
"  But,"  in  the  closing  words  of  his  inaugural  discourse 
when  installed  a  professor  in  the  Western  Theological 
Seminary,  we  can  say,  "The  Great  Teacher  ever 
lives.  And  the  gracious  Master,  as  Head  of  the 
church  and  Helper  of  His  weak  servants,  gives  the 
Holy   Spirit  to   them  who   ask  Him." 


33 


REMARKS  OF   THE  REV.  C.  C.  BEATTY,  D.D. 

I  desire  very  particularly  in  this  presence,  not  only 
for  myself,  but  as  President  of  the  Board  of  Direc- 
tors, to  express  our  deep  sense  of  the  great  loss  we 
have  experienced  in  the  death  of  our  senior  professor. 
It  has  come  upon  us  most  unexpectedly,  and  the  loss 
seems  to  us  irreparable.  The  Great  Head  of  the  Church 
alone  can  repair  the  breach  which  has  been  made. 
We  have  long  tried  and  known  his  worth.  His  long, 
able,  faithful,  and  successful  labors  among  us  have 
been  highly  appreciated  by  us  alf:  he  had  caused  us 
not  only  to  admire  but  love  him. 

He  was  recently  called  to  another  most  important 
position  in  our  Church,  as  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Education,  for  which  he  was  admirably  adapted;  and 
we  had  some  fears  that  we  might  lose  his  valuable 
services.  Indeed,  he  himself  hesitated  for  a  while. 
He  then  wrote  to  me  that  there  were  some  arguments 
for  a  change,  as  it  might  give  him,  in  a  new  position, 
freshness  and  energy  for  action;  "and,"  said  he,  "if 
ever  I  am  to  make  a  change  from  the  Seminary,  now  is 
the  time,  and  this  is  the  opportunity."  But  he  decided 
to  remain,  and  throw  himself  for  life,  with  all  his  vigor. 


into  the  work  of  his  professorship.  Neither  he  nor 
any  of  us  thought  for  how  short  a  time  this  would  be. 

But  for  this  quick  exit  from  labor  to  reward  he  was 
not  unprepared,  in  fact  or  thought  or  sentiment.  We 
had  spoken  together,  just  the  day  before,  of  the  sudden 
death  of  Dr.  Howard.  Indeed,  he  several  times  reverted 
to  it  as  a  subject  of  his  frequent  thoughts;  and  he  said, 
that  sudden  death,  to  them  that  are  prepared,  was  not 
to  be  deprecated,  but  rather  desired  if  God  so  or- 
dered, as  to  be  "  absent  from  the  body  is  to  be  present 
with  the  Lord."  And  how  frequently  since  has  that 
excellent  form  of  words  come  up  to  my  mind,  —  "  The 
souls  of  believers  are  at  their  death  made  perfect  in 
holiness,  and  do  immediately  pass  into  glory;  their 
bodies,  being  still  united  to  Christ,  do  rest  in  their 
graves  till  the  resurrection  "  !  Precious  sentiment  ! 
blessed  truth  !  "do  immediately  pass  into  glory!" 
Yes,  he  has  gone  into  glory,  and  why  should  we 
grieve?  Though  absent  from  us,  he  is  now  present 
with  the  Lord.      Let  us  follow  after. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  spend  twenty-four  hours  with 
him  at  his  house,  but  a  day  before  his  sudden  depart- 
ure. We  had  met  by  appointment,  to  confer  and  plan 
for  the  future  welfare  of  the  Seminary.     He  was  full  of 


40 

interest,  fertile  in  suggestions,  and  his  enthusiastic  nature 
looked  forward  with  hopefulness  to  its  future  advance- 
ment. Reference  was  had  to  the  half-century  celebra- 
tion of  next  spring;  "and  then,  also,"  said  he,  "at  the 
same  time  I  shall  celebrate  my  quarter  century  of  con- 
nection with  it,  and  we  both  shall  enter  upon  a  new 
course  of  usefulness."  We  shall  miss  him  greatly,  not 
only  from  the  lecture-room,  but  in  regard  to  his  active 
outside  work,  in  promoting  the  material  interests  of 
the  institution  in  various  forms,  and  for  which  his  exec- 
utive ability  eminently  fitted  him.  He  loved  the  Sem- 
inary, and  loved  to  labor  for  it.  Next  to  the  spiritual 
interests  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  the  prosperity  of 
this  institution  lay  nearest  to  his  heart. 

Did  time  and  the  fulness  of  my  heart  allow,  I  should 
speak  of  my  personal  relations  so  long  and  so  inti- 
mately and  so  happily  maintained  with  this  beloved 
friend  and  brother  and  his  family;   but  I  must  forbear. 

To  that  stricken  family  —  partner,  children,  relatives 
—  I  would  say,  they  have  our  heartfelt  sympathies  in 
their  sad  bereavement,  and  our  sincere  prayers  that 
our  and  their  Heavenly  Father,  the  God  of  all  comfort, 
may  vouchsafe  to  them  the  strongest  supports  and  rich- 
est consolations  of  His  Holy  Spirit.  The  Lord  has 
called  him  from  us  to  "  go  up  higher." 


SERVICES 


IN 


THE    THIRD    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH, 


NEWARK,    N.J. 


ADDRESS    OF   THE   REV.  W.  M.  PAXTON,  D.D. 

"And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  saying  unto  me, 
Write,  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord." 
These  words  seem  to  assure  us  of  the  truth  of  those 
beautiful  lines  of  Faber:  — 

"  There  is  no  place  where  earth's  sorrows 
Are  so  much  felt  as  up  in  heaven." 

When  there  is  a  sorrow  down  here,  there  is  sympa- 
thy up  there.  Heaven  has  a  care  for  us  in  our  bitterest 
trials.  A  voice  comes  from  the  skies,  saying,  "Write!" 
But,  with  our  eyes  dazzled  with  the  glare  of  the  world, 
the  writing  is  often  invisible  to  us  until  the  heat  of  the 
furnace  of  affliction  brings  out  the  record  clear  and 
distinct,  and  then  with  what  delight  we  read,  "  Blessed 
are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord"! 

This  is  a  bitter  sorrow  under  which  our  hearts  are 
oppressed  to-day.  We  all  feel  it.  Our  departed 
brother  held  so  many  important  positions,  and  stood 
in  so  many  different  relations,  that  there  is  not  one  of 
us  who  in  some  way  or  other  is  not  made  to  feel  that 


44 

this  death  is  a  personal  grief,  A  father  has  been  taken 
from  the  midst  o(  a  family,  where  he  was  loved,  —  oh, 
how   tenderly!    a    professor,  from   a  chair   which    he 

adorned  with  his  learning j  a  teacher,  from  the  midst  of 

students,  who  looked  to  him  for  guidance  in  the  way 
of  truth:  a  minister,  from  the  pulpit  where  he  attracted 
so  many  hearts:  ami  an  author,  from  his  pen, which  he 
used  so  successfully  in  illuminating  the  word  of  God. 
I  lis  death  is  a  grief  to  us.  and  a  loss  to  the  generation 
which  he  served. 

It  only  remains  with  us  to  recall  the  points  of  his 
useful  life:  remembering  that  with  us.  also,  wthe  time 
is  short." 

Melancthon  W.  Jacobus  was  born  in  this  city 
^Newark)  on  the  ioth  of  September,  1816,  lie  was 
rain  in  Bloomfield,  X.  J.,  where  he  was  pursuing 
his  preparatory  course  of  academic  study.  He  entered 
the  Sophomore  class  in  Princeton  College,  at  the  early 
age  of  fifteen,  and  graduated  with  the  first  honor  of  his 
class  in  the  year  i$^-|.  After  a  brief  interval,  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  theology  in  Princeton  Seminary, 
and  attained  to  such  proficiency  in  his  studies  that. 
when  he  graduated,  he  was  retained  as  an  assistant  to 
Pre:",  Addison  Alexander  in  the  department  of  Hebrew 


45 

instruction.  In  the  year  1839,  he  was  called  and  set- 
tled in  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  where  he  remained  for  a  period 
of  eleven  years;  during  which  time  a  large  and  admir- 
ing congregation  was  attracted  by  his  preaching,  and 
the  church  advanced  to  a  high  degree  of  prosperitv. 
It  was  at  this  time  he  received  the  first  warning  of 
impaired  health.  Added  to  his  pastoral  and  pulpit 
labors,  he  had  undertaken  the  preparation  of  a  commen- 
tary upon  the  Gospels,  the  first  volume  of  which  he 
had  already  published.  The  confinement  and  exhaus- 
tion of  this  accumulated  work  brought  upon  him  a 
hemorrhage  from  the  lungs,  which  rendered  it  neces- 
sary to  intermit  his  labors,  and  seek  refreshment  and 
health  in  a  foreign  tour.  Accompanied  bv  his  wife,  he 
travelled  over  the  Continent  of  Europe,  and  then  ex- 
tended his  tour  to  Egypt  and  the  Holy  Land,  returning 
by  Constantinople  and  Greece. 

It  was  during  this  absence  that  Divine  Providence 
opened  to  him  a  door  which  changed  the  direction  of 
his  after  life.  The  chair  of  Oriental  and  Biblical  Lit- 
erature in  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  in  Alle- 
gheny City,  Pa.,  was  vacant;  and  the  attention  of  the 
directors  being  attracted  to  his  rising  fame,  both  as  a 


46 

preacher  and  commentator,  he  was  chosen  as  the  man 
to  fill  that  important  position.  Upon  the  nomination 
of  the  directors  of  the  Seminary,  he  was  elected  to  this 
professorship  by  the  General  Assembly,  in  May,  1851. 
This  call  met  him  in  a  foreign  land.  His  health  had 
been  greatly  improved;  yet  the  stress  of  pulpit  labor 
might  endanger  his  already  weakened  vocal  organs, 
whilst  the  comparative  quiet  of  a  professor's  chair 
seemed  to  hold  out  the  hope  of  continued  life.  The 
decision  was  not  difficult  to  make.  He  resigned  his 
pastorate  in  Brooklyn,  where  many  warm  friends 
regretted  his  loss,  and,  accepting  the  chair  of  Oriental 
and  Biblical  Literature,  entered  upon  his  duties  earl}7 
in  the  year  1852. 

From  that  time  until  his  death  it  was  my  privilege 
to  know  him  intimately,  and  enjoy  his  confidence. 
Being  then  a  pastor  in  the  city  of  Pittsburgh,  I  was  the 
eye-witness  of  much  of  his  after  life.  Knowing  the 
circumstances  as  I  did,  I  may  safely  say  that  no  man 
was  ever  received  with  greater  cordiality  by  the  citi- 
zens of  Pittsburgh  and  Allegheny,  and  by  the  large 
Presbyterian  population  of  Western  Pennsylvania. 
When  he  preached  in  the  churches,  he  was  listened  to 
with  delight;  when  he  commenced  his  work  as  a  pro- 


47 

fessor,  the  students  gathered  around  him  with  admira- 
tion; and  at  synods  and  presbyteries  and  conventions, 
he  was  popular  and  influential,  a  favorite  with  the 
elders  and  with  his  brethren  in  the  ministry. 

His  present  position  was  favorable  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  ideal  of  his  life,  —  the  completion  of 
a  commentary  upon  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  His  vol- 
ume upon  Matthew  had  already  been  published;  but 
now,  fresh  from  the  scenes  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  his 
mind  teeming  with  new  thoughts  and  suggestions,  he 
took  up  the  broken  thread  of  his  work,  and  soon  after 
issued  his  volume  upon  Mark  and  Luke.  This  was 
followed  by  his  still  more  valuable  work  on  the  Gospel 
of  John;  and,  in  after  years,  by  the  ablest  and  most 
scholarly  of  all  his  works,  —  his  Commentary  upon 
Acts,  and  his  two  volumes  upon  Genesis.  Of  the 
character  of  these  works  it  is  needless  for  me  to  speak. 
They  have  taken  their  place  among  the  standard  works 
of  the  church.  Some  of  them  have  been  republished 
in  England  and  Scotland.  His  thoughts  upon  the 
Gospels  have  been  reproduced  in  thousands  of  Sabbath- 
schools,  and  are  familiar  in  many  households. 

During  this  period  of  his  professorship,  he  was  provi- 
dentially   drawn     into    controversy,    where    his    keen 


48 

intellect  and  ready  learning  gave  him  an  easy  victory. 
You  may  remember  that,  sometime  about  the  year  1853 
or  1854,  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  this  country 
began,  in  an  ostentatious  way,  to  claim  that  the  Romish 
Church  is  the  foster-mother  of  free  institutions.  Into 
this  controversy  Dr.  Jacobus  entered  with  great  fresh- 
ness and  vigor;  and,  such  was  his  ready  learning  and 
skill  in  argument,  that  an  intelligent  public  opinion  did 
not  hesitate  to  award  him  the  victory.  The  bishop 
whom  he  fought  soon  after  retired  from  his  episcopal 
throne,  and  it  was  shrewdly  suspected  by  many  that 
this  was  pursuant  to  the  settled  policy  of  Rome,  —  not 
to  allow  a  vanquished  champion  to  remain  in  honor. 
It  was  not  precisely  with  the  simple  "  sling  and  stone  " 
of  David  that  he  slew  that  Philistine,  but  rather  with 
the  keenness  of  a  scimitar  and  the  flash  of  a  Damascus 
blade. 

But  there  was  another  work  to  which  Dr.  Jacobus 
seemed  called  of  God,  which  I  take  pleasure  in  men- 
tioning, because  it  rises  up  before  my  mind  as  the 
most  blessed  work  of  his  life.  It  was  the  authorship 
of  the  "  Address  to  the  Churches  "  in  the  year  1857, 
which  was  so  greatly  blessed  of  God  in  promoting  the 
work  of  revival. 


49 

You  may  remember  that  the  autumn  of  1857   was 
marked  by  a  very  severe  pecuniary  crisis,  which  was 
followed,  as  has  often  been  the  case  in  the  history  of 
the  church,  by  a  great  religious  awakening.     A  con- 
vention of  the  ministers  and  elders  of  the  five  synods, 
including  Western  Pennsylvania    and    Eastern   Ohio, 
met  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church   in   the   city  of 
Pittsburg,  to   pray  for  the  outpouring  of  God's   Spirit 
upon  the  churches.     On  the  first  day  of  the  meeting,  a 
committee  was  appointed,  of  which  Dr.  Jacobus  was 
chairman,  to  draft  an  address  to  the  churches.     The 
first  day  of  the  meeting  was  not  marked  by  any  special 
interest.     Indeed,  so  dull   was   the  whole  proceeding 
that  many  of  the  most  anxious  and  hopeful  began  to 
despond.     On  the  second  day,  toward  noon,  that  re- 
markable man  of  God,  Dr.  Plumer,  arose  and  made  a 
few  tender  remarks,  and  concluded  by  narrating  one 
of  the  simplest  of  stories  about  a  little  girl  who  had 
always  observed  that  her   mother    comforted    herself 
under  all   trials   by  saying,  "  Jesus  lives?     One  day, 
seeing  her  mother  bathed  in  tears,  the  child  ran  to  her 
and    said,    "Mother,  mother,    is  Jesus   dead?"      The 
utterance    of  these   words,   "Is  Jesus  dead?"   melted 
the  assembly  into  tears.     All  hearts  seemed  broken, 

7 


5° 

stifled  sobs  could  be  heard  all  over  the  house.  It 
seemed  to  be  the  moment  when  the  Spirit  of  God 
came  down  on  that  assembly.  This  was  immediately 
followed  by  the  reading  of  Dr.  Jacobus's  Address  to 
the  Churches.  It  had  been  prepared,  as  I  afterward 
learned  from  his  correspondence,  amid  prayers  and 
tears;  and,  when  his  burning  words  fell  upon  that 
assembly,  the  effect  was  such  as  cannot  well  be  de- 
scribed. God  had  prepared  him  to  write.  It  was  bap- 
tized with  prayer  and  tears.  The  thought  was  so 
apposite,  the  appeal  so  powerful,  and  the  Scripture 
passages  were  woven  together  with  such  point  and 
power,  that  it  seemed  to  be  the  very  word  of  God 
addressed  to  every  heart.  The  revival  had  begun, 
and  God's  ministers  and  elders  were  baptized  for 
a  great  work.  This  Address  was  published.  The 
ministers  carried  it  home  with  them;  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing Sabbath,  instead  of  a  sermon,  this  Address  was 
read  in  multitudes  of  pulpits;  and,  wherever  it  was 
read,  such  a  blessing  attended  it  that  a  great  revival 
followed  over  all  that  region  of  country. 

But  time  will  not  permit  us  to  continue  these  per- 
sonal reminiscences.  He  has  gone,  and  we  mourn 
his  loss.     His  departure  was   so   sudden  that  we  are 


5i 

stunned  and  confused  by  the  shock.  It  seems  but 
yesterday  since  I  saw  him  in  the  midst  of  a  joyous 
marriage  scene;  but  now  the  tongue  that  uttered  such 
expressive  words  of  kindness  is  stilled  in  death.  He 
died  in  the  faith  of  those  blessed  truths  which  he  has 
so  ably  expounded  and  so  eloquently  preached.  Man's 
sinfulness  and  Christ's  salvation  were  the  great  truths 
which  appeared  in  his  whole  work  as  an  expositor 
and  preacher.  He  had  a  deep  sense  of  his  own  per- 
sonal unworthiness  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  this  led 
him  with  a  simple  faith  to  accept  Christ's  righteous- 
ness as  his  only  hope.  In  this  confidence  he  lived  and 
died.     And  now  he  has  gone  — 

"  To  sit  clown  by  the  clear 
And  crystal  waters  ;  he  has  gone  to  list 
Isaiah's  harp,  and  David's,  and  walk 
With  Enoch  and  Elijah  and  the  host 
Of  the  just  men  made  perfect." 


52 


ADDRESS    OF   THE   REV.   SAMUEL  J.  WILSON,    D.D. 

Perhaps  that  which  first  impressed  those  who  knew 
Dr.  Jacobus  intimately  was  his  wonderful  versatility. 
His  mind  was  many-sided.  He  was  a  scholar  in  the 
best  and  truest  acceptation  of  that  term,  and  at  the 
same  time  he  possessed  eminent  business  qualifica- 
tions. He  was  a  ready  and  elegant  writer,  and  at 
the  same  time  a  fluent,  apt,  and  eloquent  extempora- 
neous orator.  He  was  an  able  and  accomplished 
professor,  and  at  the  same  time  a  popular  and  dis- 
tinguished preacher.  He  was  alike  successful  as  a 
writer  of  books,  of  reviews,  and  of  newspaper  articles. 
He  could  preach  either  with  or  without  notes.  Few 
men  were  happier  than  he,  either  in  a  studied,  elabo- 
rate address  or  in  an  impromptu  effusion.  He  was 
an  indefatigable  and  enthusiastic  student;  yet  he  never 
became  monkish  or  ascetic,  but  was  always  thoroughly 
awake  to  the  living  issues  of  the  times.  He  was  an 
accomplished  ecclesiastic,  a  ready  and  an  effective 
debater,  and  always  shone  conspicuously  on  the  floor 
of  the  Presbytery,  the  Synod,  and  the  General  As- 
sembly; and  as  the  organizer  of  the  scheme  of  Susten- 
tation  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  country  he 
exhibited  extraordinary  executive  ability.     He  would 


53 

have  been  distinguished  in  any  profession  or  in  any 
station.  He  would  have  occupied  a  front  rank  as  a 
merchant,  a  lawyer,  a  statesman,  or  a  scientist.  Any 
thing  which  he  undertook  to  do  he  did  well,  and  upon 
all  his  work  he  left  the  distinct  impress  of  a  strong 
individuality.  It  seemed  easy  for  him  to  achieve  suc- 
cess and  distinction  in  any  calling  or  in  any  depart- 
ment of  human  effort.  His  powers  and  acquirements 
were  varied,  and  all  of  them  were  at  ready  and  instant 
command.  In  his  study  and  lecture-room,  he  might 
have  been  taken  for  a  mere  scholar;  in  the  pulpit,  he 
might  have  been  taken  for  a  preacher,  and  nothing 
more;  in  the  social  circle,  he  might  have  been  taken 
for  a  man  who  was  devoted  to  society;  on  the  plat- 
form, he  might  have  been  taken  for  a  popular  speaker, 
and  for  that  alone:  yet  he  passed  from  each  of  these 
divers  spheres  to  the  others  with  perfect  ease  and  nat- 
uralness, and  was  alike  distinguished  in  them  all. 

Perhaps  the  next  thing  which  impressed  those  who 
knew  him  well  was  the  rapidity  of  his  intellectual 
operations.  The  quickness  of  his  mental  movements 
was  wonderful.  These  movements  were  as  swift  as  the 
flight  of  the  eagle,  and  in  their  swiftness  were  some- 
times dazzling  and  bewildering.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  rapid  and  facile  workers  I  have  ever  known.    To 


54 

the  rapidity  of  his  intellectual  movements  both  tongue 
and  hand  appropriately  and  S37mpathetically  responded; 
so  that  fluent  and  felicitous  speech,  and  the  pen  of  a 
ready  writer,  kept  pace  with  the  rapid  thought.  In 
this  way  he  was  enabled,  notwithstanding  his  ill  health, 
to  accomplish  an  amount  of  work  that  was  prodigious. 
With  his  thoughts  coming  thick  and  fast,  with  a  co- 
piousness of  fitly  chosen  words,  which  never  for  so 
much  as  even  a  moment  failed  him,  and  with  a  pen 
which  fairly  flew  across  the  paper,  his  achievements  in 
work  were  amazing. 

The  fertility  of  his  mind  was  quite  as  remarkable  as 
his  versatility  and  as  the  rapidity  of  his  intellectual 
operations.  He  was  never  tame,  he  was  never  dull, 
he  was  never  commonplace.  Upon  every  subject  he 
was  fresh,  lively,  and  suggestive.  His  mind  was  a 
prolific  field  which  abounded  with  every  variety  of 
product.  He  brought  forth  out  of  his  treasure  things 
new  and  old ;  the  new  being  dignified  and  made  attrac- 
tive by  rare  and  exquisite  learning,  and  the  old  being 
beautified  by  the  choicest  drapery  of  expression  and 
imagery.  His  mind  teemed  with  thoughts,  images, 
and  associations,  and  these  were  always  presented  in 
some  new  light,  with  some  new  tint  or  shading  which 
a  chaste  and  delicate  fancy  added  to  them. 


55 

Another  characteristic  of  his  was  the  intense  and 
tireless  activity  of  his  mind.  He  was  always  busy. 
His  active  intellect  could  not  rest.  His  brain  and  his 
hands  were  always  full,  and  he  was  constantly  project- 
ing new  schemes  of  work  and  of  activity.  It  so  hap- 
pened, in  the  providence  of  God,  that  for  the  last  ten 
days  of  his  life  I  was  much  in  his  company.  In  those 
ten  days,  we  conversed  more  on  general  topics  than 
ordinarily  we  did  in  a  year.  I  never  knew  him  to  be 
so  full  of  plans  and  schemes  of  work  and  usefulness. 
His  thoughts  ranged  over  the  entire  church  with  its 
vast  interests  and  enterprises,  and  it  seemed  that  it 
would  require  a  hundred  lives  to  carry  out  all  the  proj- 
ects of  his  fertile  brain.  With  his  infirmities  of  body, 
ninety-nine  men  in  a  hundred  would  have  given  up  all 
work;  but  he  seemed  only  to  labor  the  more  intensely, 
as  if  admonished  that  the  time  was  short.  His  quick 
eye  was  on  the  whole  circle  of  learning,  and  nothing 
escaped  its  notice.  He  gathered  the  choicest  books 
around  him,  read  them  with  avidity,  and  extracted 
from  them  the  very  quintessence  of  their  contents  in 
so  concentrated  a  form  that  it  was  available  at  any 
moment  and  in  any  emergency.  It  was  impossible  to 
confine  his  activities  to  any  one  particular  channel. 
They  would  transcend  all  barriers,  and  would  expend 


56 

themselves  in  varied  and  diverse  enterprises.  He  was 
always  working.  His  pen  never  flagged.  He  worked 
to  the  very  last. 

As  a  preacher   he  had   few  equals.      His  sermons 
were  scriptural,  expository,  sound,  direct,  cogent,  clear, 
fresh,  lively,  abounding  in  original  thought  which  was 
couched    in    the  most  beautiful  and   appropriate   lan- 
guage, which  was  happily  at  an  equal  remove  from  the 
dry  commonplaces   of  theology  on  the  one  hand,  and 
from  the   dialect   of  slang   and   provincialism   on    the 
other.     He  would  have  adorned  any  pulpit,  and  would 
have   edified  any  congregation.     In  his   knowledge  of 
the  English    Bible  he   was,  perhaps,  absolutely  unri- 
valled.    He  had  memorized  not  only  verses  and  chap- 
ters,  but   whole    books,  —  indeed,    nearly    the    entire 
Bible.     He  always  had  scriptural  quotations  pat  to  the 
purpose.     This  greatly  enriched  his  preaching,  but  it 
imparted  especial   unction   and  impressiveness  to  his 
prayers.      These  prayers  of  his  were  unique  :    none 
just  like  them  were  ever  heard;    none  just  like  them 
shall  we  ever  hear   again.       How  inimitable  was    his 
paraphrase  of  the  Lord's  prayer!     The  power  of  the 
Address,  to  which  Dr.  Paxton  has  so  happily  and  so 
eloquently  referred,  consisted  largely  in  the  fact  that 
it  was  drawn  directlv  from  the  word  of  God. 


57 

His  qualities  as  a  pastor  were  as  remarkable  as 
his  qualities  as  a  preacher.  Affable,  genial,  and 
sympathetic,  he  was  alike  at  home  and  acceptable 
in  the  social  circle,  in  the  sick-room,  and  in  the 
house   of  mourning. 

His  scholarship  was  varied  and  accurate,  and  would 
have  adorned  any  chair.  For  twenty-three  years  he 
performed  the  duties  which  belong  to  the  depart- 
ments of  Old  and  of  New  Testament  exegesis.  His 
connection  with  the  Seminary  and  my  own  have 
been  almost  contemporaneous.  He  entered  the 
Seminary  as  professor  a  few  months  before  I  en- 
tered it  as  a  student;  and  ever  since,  for  all  these 
twenty-five  years,  as  student,  as  tutor,  and  as  fellow- 
professor,  I  have  been  intimately  associated  with  him, 
and  never  for  an  hour  has  our  friendship  been 
interrupted.  We  differed,  and  that,  too,  where  each 
had  cherished  and  positive  convictions.  We  met 
often  where  the  angles  were  sharp,  we  met  where 
interests  clashed,  we  passed  twelve  years  as  pastors 
of  adjoining  congregations,  and  yet  never  in  those 
twenty-five  years  was  there  one  moment  when  we 
could  not  meet  in  perfect  cordiality.  Dr.  Jacobus 
had   less   venom   in   his    composition   than   any  man   I 


58 

ever   knew.       He    never   harbored    malice.      Enmity 
and    spite  found    no    lodging-place   in    his    heart. 

As  professor,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  interests 
of  the  Seminary.  He  was  thoroughly  identified  with 
it,  and  he  labored  for  all  its  interests.  He  was  very 
successful  in  securing  patrons  for  it,  and  in  securing 
funds  for  its  constantly  growing  wants.  His  life  for 
the  last  quarter  of  a  century  has  formed  a  large 
part  of  its  life  and  history;  and  he  will  be  sadly 
missed,  not  only  in  the  lecture-room  and  in  the 
meetings  of  the  Faculty,  but  in  the  wider  sphere 
in  which  the  general  interests  of  the  institution  must 
be  looked  after.  He  died  in  the  harness;  he  fell 
on  the  field;  and  young  men  among  whom  he  labored 
so  long  carry  him  to  his  burial. 

His  busy,  useful  life  has  ended  suddenly  and  mys- 
teriously. If  we  were  the  judges,  we  should  say  that 
his  life  had  ended  before  his  work  was  done  :  but 
the  purposes  of  God  are  inscrutable  ;  and  there 
are  infinite  reasons  lying  back  of  this  providence 
which,  if  revealed  to  us,  would  be  perfectly  satis- 
factory to  the  bereaved  Seminary,  to  these  father- 
less children,  and  even  to  this  widowed  mother. 
For  this  explanation  we  wait;  but  he  knows  it  all 
now.     Thank  God,  he  knows  it  all. 


59 

How  blessed  to  be  permitted  to  work  up  to  the 
very  last,  without  the  loss  of  an  hour,  without  the 
loss  of  a  single  lecture  or  recitation!  The  last  place 
I  ever  saw  him  alive  was  at  his  desk  in  the  lecture- 
room.  He  finished  the  work  of  the  day;  and,  before 
the  bell  summoned  to  duty  the  next  day,  he  had 
entered  upon  a  higher  service  in  heaven.  How 
blessed  to  fall  asleep  in  Jesus,  without  seeing  death 
or  tasting   its  bitterness  ! 

When  we  have  spoken  of  the  public  life  of  the 
deceased,  of  his  professorial,  of  his  pastoral,  and  of 
his  ecclesiastical  work,  of  his  books  and  his  literary 
productions,  we  have  only  given  the  exterior  of  his 
life.  To  describe  him  fully,  we  should  have  to  in- 
trude within  an  enclosure  which  is  too  sacred  to  be 
exposed  to  view  here.  Dr.  Jacobus  was  only  truly 
and  fully  known  at  his  home,  in  his  family,  as  hus- 
band and  father.  To  those  who  thus  knew  him  best, 
all  his  honors  and  titles  sound  hollow  and  empty 
compared  with  the  more  sacred  titles  of  husband 
and  father.  On  this  hallowed  ground  I  shall  not 
dare  to  tread.  We  stand  in  the  outer  court.  With- 
in the  sanctuary  are  the  golden  candlesticks,  the 
table   of  shew-bread,  and  the  altar  of  incense. 


6o 


ADDRESS    OF   THE    REV.    WM.    M.   ADAMS,    D.D. 

The  death  of  a  Christian  minister!  At  how  many 
graves  has  he  stood  ere  he  reached  his  own!  Into 
how  many  homes  stricken  with  sorrow  has  he  en- 
tered, with  ministries  of  consolation,  before  his  own 
home  was  made  desolate  by  his  departure  !  How 
often  has  he  preached  to  his  fellow-men  concern- 
ing death,  and  Him  who  is  the  Resurrection  and  the 
Life,  before  he  himself  passed  into  the  great  mys- 
tery of  dissolution  ! 

In  such  a  presence  it  is  that  we  gather  our  best 
lessons  as  to  the  true  value  of  life.  Two  aspects 
of  humanity  are  brought  together  by  the  inspired 
apostle.  "All  flesh  is  as  grass,  and  all  the  glory  of 
man  as  the  flower  of  grass.  The  grass  withereth, 
and  the  flower  thereof  falleth  away;  but  the  word 
of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever.  And  this  is  the 
word  which  by  the  gospel  is  preached  unto  you."  In 
one  aspect,  what  so  frail  and  evanescent  as  a  human 
life?  In  another,  even  as  associated  with  the  word 
of  God,  and  that  destiny  to  which  it  points,  what 
so    sublime    and    imperishable?      It   is    the    province 


6i 

of  every  Christian  minister  to  be  connected  with 
his  fellow-men  in  those  matters  which  relate  to 
what  is  divine  and  immortal.  As  he  passes  from 
the  world  when  his  work  is  finished,  we  recall  the 
fact  that  his  influence  never  can  die.  It  surpasses 
our  power  of  computation.  It  has  given  stimulus 
to  thought,  and  direction  to  character.  You  may- 
put  in  order  the  number  of  public  services  he  has 
rendered,  enumerate  the  sabbaths  and  the  sermons 
of  his  official  career;  but  who  can  measure  that 
invisible  influence  which  he  has  exerted  in  the 
comparisons  and  judgments  and  purposes  of  hun- 
dreds and  thousands  who  have  been  led  into  a 
religious  life  by  his  persuasion  and  fidelity!  Blessed, 
indeed,  is  he  who,  dying  in  the  Lord,  is  permitted 
to  see  the  long  succession  of  good  results  which 
follow  his  faithful  work  in  the  ministry  of  Christ. 
If  I  may  be  permitted  to  paraphrase  the  language 
of  Mr.  Coleridge  concerning  a  distinguished  teacher, 
I  would  say:  "When  I  would  frame  to  myself  the 
most  inspiriting  representation  of  future  bliss  which 
my  mind  is  capable  of  comprehending,  it  would  be 
embodied  to  me  in  the  idea  of  a  Christian  minister 
receiving,  at  some  distant  period,  the  appropriate 
reward    of  his    earthly   labors,   when    thousands    and 


62 

ten  thousands  of  glorified  spirits,  whose  reason  and 
conscience  had  through  his  efforts  been  unfolded, 
shall  sing  the  song  of  their  own  redemption,  and, 
pouring  forth  praise  to  God  and  to  their  Saviour, 
shall  repeat  his  c  new  name  '  in  heaven,  give  thanks 
for  his  earthly  virtues,  as  the  chosen  instruments  of 
divine  mercy  to  themselves,  and  not  seldom  perhaps 
turning  their  eye  towards  him,  as  from  the  sun  to 
its  image  in  the  fountain,  with  secondary  gratitude 
and  the   permitted  utterance  of  a  human   love." 

The  death  of  a  Christian  scholar !  Superficial 
minds,  judging  according  to  sense,  might  regard  the 
life  of  a  student,  delving  in  books  and  making 
books,  as  of  small  account  in  this  great  and  noisy 
world.  But  the  wheels  which  make  the  noise  as 
they  grind  the  grain  and  saw  the  lumber  are  put 
in  motion  by  the  stream,  which  has  its  beginning 
in  the  hills,  and  flows  quietly  along  through  the 
meadows,  attracting  no  attention  to  itself.  The 
author  of  a  good  book  is  the  true  Methuselah:  he 
lives  a  thousand  years  who  excites  and  informs 
and  directs  other  minds  for  generations  after  he 
has  gone  from  the  sight  of  men.  Specially  true 
is  this  of  the  good  and  the  great  men  who  have 
given    their    lives   to   the    elucidation    of   the    Holy 


63 

Scriptures.  Generations  pass  along  over  the  earth, 
customs  change,  nations  perish;  but  the  word  of 
the  Lord  abideth  for  ever;  and  he  who  writes  any 
thing  which  helps  men  to  a  better  understanding  of 
the  Bible  has  a  share  in  the  immortality  of  that 
book  which  he  illustrates.  Judge  not  that  a  Chris- 
tian scholar  passes  a  life  of  idleness  and  waste;    for 

"  A  drop  of  ink 
Falling,  like  dew,  upon  a  thought 
Produces  that  which  makes  thousands,  perhaps  millions,  think." 

The  sudden  death  of  a  Christian  minister!  Smit- 
ten when  in  full  armor  in  the  midst  of  vigorous 
duty!  So  Chalmers  died.  Lying  down  at  night 
in  apparent  health,  with  the  implements  for  writing 
within  easy  reach  of  his  hand,  that  he  might  work 
when  first  he  woke,  and  at  the  early  dawn  his  liber- 
ated soul  exclaimed,  "  Let  me  go,  for  the  mornino- 
breaketh."  So  died  Albert  Barnes  and  Nicholas 
Murray  ;  so  died  our  common  friend  Dr.  William 
D.  Howard,  at  whose  funeral,  three  weeks  before 
his  own,  Dr.  Jacobus  so  tenderly  officiated.  Let 
us  dismiss  all  speculations  and  preferences  as  to  the 
time  and  mode  of  our  departure,  since  concerning 
these  we  have  no  responsibility.  With  one  thing  only 
are  we  charged, —  always  to  be  ready.     Death  never 


64 

can  be  sudden  to  one  who  lives  so  mindful  of  his 
exposure  to  it  that  he  may  be  said,  in  the  language 
of  the  apostle,  to  die  daily.  Never  can  it  be  un- 
expected to  him  who  is  well  prepared  for  its 
coming.  May  God  help  us  all  so  to  live  that  we 
may  adopt  the  words  of  the  pious  Baxter  :  "  Lord, 
when  thou  wilt,  how  thou  wilt,  where  thou  wilt  ; 
be  it   only  that   I    am   ready." 

My  personal  associations  with  Dr.  Jacobus  became 
intimate  for  the  first  time  in  connection  with  those 
negotiations  which  resulted  in  the  reunion  of  the  two 
branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  was  the 
moderator  of  his  own  assembly  at  the  time  when 
the  vote  was  taken  to  consummate  the  union. 
Thrown  much  into  his  society  at  that  time,  it  gives 
me  pleasure  to  recall  his  uniform  urbanity  and  wis- 
dom and  catholic,  Christian  temper.  Several  asso- 
ciated with  us  on  those  committees  of  conference 
have  already  gone.  Surely  they  do  not  regret,  in 
their  abodes  of  glory,  what  they  did  in  the  cause  of 
Christian  unity  and  love.  Should  I  adopt  the  thought 
of  Leighton,  —  that  in  the  presence  of  death  all 
earthly  distinctions  fade  out  of  sight,  even  as  all  colors 
are  alike  in  the  dark,  —  the  association  might  well 
be  regarded    as    too   sombre.     Rather  would  we  say 


65 

that,  in  the  light  of  heaven  and  in  the  presence  of 
our  Lord,  all  the  petty  differences  which  divide 
and  separate  on  earth  are  lost  for  ever  in  the  glory 
of  a   common  relationship  to  God  and  the  Lamb  ! 

Rapidly  are  the  servants  of  Christ  passing  to 
their  eternal  home.  To  many  this  world  is  grow- 
ing lonesome;  but  heaven  becomes  more  and  more 
home-like  and  populous  as  companions  and  co- 
laborers  are  removed  thither.  We  understand  better, 
every  time  that  a  familiar  friend  is  translated  to  that 
world  of  joy,  the  words  of  inspiration,  "We  are 
come  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the 
first-born  which  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to  the 
spirits  of  just  men   made   perfect." 

"  Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand, 

In  sparkling  raiment  bright, 
The  armies  of  the  ransomed  saints 

Throng  up  the  steeps  of  light. 
'Tis  finished,  all  is  finished, 

Their  fight  with  death  and  sin  : 
Fling  open  wide  the  golden  gates, 

And  let  the  victors  in. 
Oh,  then  what  rapturous  greetings 

On  Canaan's  happy  shore  ! 
What  knitting  severed  friendships  up 

Where  partings  are  no  more  !  " 


ADDENDA. 


DR.    JACOBUS     AND    THE     SCHEME     OF 
SUSTENTATION. 


It  seems  proper  that  some  supplemental  reference  should 
here  be  made  to  the  services  of  Dr.  Jacobus  in  connection 
with  the  General  Assembly's  Scheme  of  Ministerial  Susten- 
tation,  of  which  he  was  the  earnest  advocate  and  zealous  pro- 
moter, and  of  which  he  was  for  three  years  the  efficient 
secretary.  What  here  follows  upon  that  subject  is  simply 
condensed  from  his  annual  reports  presented  to  the  Assem- 
bly ;  and  is  designed  to  exhibit,  in  as  compact  form  as  pos- 
sible, his  views  of  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  work, 
the  considerations  by  which  he  defended  the  necessity  of  a 
sustentation  agency,  and  the  actual  results  achieved.  No 
eulogy  or  encomium  is  attempted,  nor  any  comment  offered. 
The  arguments  which  he  employed  are  simply  recited,  and 
the  facts  are  allowed  to  speak  for  themselves. 

A  growing  concern  had  been  felt  for  years  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church  on  the  subject  of  the  inadequate  support  of 
the  ministry,  with  all  the  privations,  anxieties,  and  discour- 
agements which  it  occasioned  to  ministers  themselves  and 
their  families,  as  well  as  the  damage  thence  resulting  to  the 


7o 

church  itself,  since  it  seriously  curtailed  the  amount  and 
impaired  the  efficiency  of  ministerial  work,  and  proved  the 
fruitful  source  of  other  alarming  and  increasing  evils.  The 
conviction  was  general  that  some  adequate  remedy  must  be 
devised,  and  ought  to  be  applied.  Great  expense  was  in- 
curred in  educating  men  for  the  ministry.  A  disabled  min- 
isters' fund  was  provided  for  those  who  were  worn-out  in  the 
service  :  but  a  large  proportion  of  those  who  were  actually 
engaged  in  doing  the  work  of  the  church  received,  instead 
of  a  generous  support,  a  miserable  and  scanty  pittance ;  and 
existing  methods  of  relief  were  quite  unable  to  correct  this 
grievous  wrong.  This  matter  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
first  assembly  of  the  reunited  church  in  1870 ;  and  a  com- 
mittee, of  which  Dr.  Jacobus  was  chairman,  was  appointed 
to  consider  and  report  upon  the  question  of  sustentation.  A 
resolution  was  also  referred  to  this  committee,  directine 
inquiry  to  be  made  into  the  stipends  of  ministers ;  and  the 
results  laid  before  the  next  General  Assembly,  with  sugges- 
tions as  to  the  best  means  of  raising  the  smaller  stipends. 

Inquiries  were  accordingly  addressed  to  all  who  were  in 
charge  of  churches,  whether  pastors  or  stated  supplies. 
Out  of  the  entire  number  (2,729),  answers  were  received 
from  2,100.  Of  these,  but  852  received  salaries  of  $1,000  or 
upwards;  1,248  received  under  $1,000  (of  whom  432  were 
pastors,  and  816  stated  supplies).  There  were  909  who 
received  less  than  $800:    of  these,  281  were  pastors,  and 


7i 

628  stated  supplies.  And  622  received  less  than  $600:  of 
these,  145   were  pastors,  and  477  stated  supplies.     Of  the 

629  who  were  not  reported,  more  than  200  were  home 
missionaries  :  so  that  the  general  average  would  not  have 
been  materially  affected  if  all  had  been  heard  from.  In 
the  language  of  the  committee  :  "  These  figures  represent 
startling  and  saddening  facts,  calling  loudly  for  action." 
"  Here  is  a  large  class  of  educated  men,  with  cultivated 
tastes,  and  with  wives  of  refinement,  used  to  comfortable 
living,  who  endure  drudgery,  and  suffer  hardships  and  priva- 
tions which  they  would  shame  to  tell :  their  children  growing 
up  with  meagre  facilities  of  schooling ;  the  minister,  who 
should  owe  no  man  any  thing,  unable  to  worry  through  the 
year  without  debt,  always  under  the  harrow,  wasting  his 
best  energies  in  making  ends  meet." 

Hence  the  increasing  instability  of  the  pastoral  office  : 
hosts  of  candidates  flocking  to  every  desirable  vacancy,  and 
bringing  the  ministry  into  contempt ;  the  multiplication  of 
stated  supplies,  one  thousand  of  our  working  ministers  stand- 
ing in  this  equivocal  and  temporary  relation,  —  a  relation 
unknown  to  our  constitution  ;  the  great  number  of  unem- 
ployed ministers  and  vacant  churches  (out  of  4,238  min- 
isters on  our  roll,  only  2,700  at  the  utmost  being  in  any 
ministerial  charge,  and  only  1,625  being  pastors;  while  out 
of  the  4,526  churches  on  our  lists,  more  than  one-fifth  are 
vacant)  ;  preachers  without  charge  accumulating   in    large 


72 

places,  and  fearing  to  go  to  destitute  regions ;  the  enforced 
secularization  of  the  ministry  (men  ordained  to  preach 
the  gospel,  and  who,  by  divine  ordinance,  should  live  of  the 
gospel,  constrained  by  sheer  lack  of  bread  for  their  needy 
households  to  turn  aside  to  secular  pursuits,  and,  abandon- 
ing sacred  functions  altogether,  or  devoting  to  them  but  a 
fraction  of  their  time  and  strength)  ;  young  men  of  talent  and 
piety  deterred  from  entering  the  ministry,  and  drawn  aside 
to  other  avocations  which  offer  at  least  a  comfortable  living  ; 
the  popular  impression  created,  and  the  sentiment  actually 
advocated  publicly,  that  the  ranks  of  the  ministry  are  full, 
and  even  overcrowded,  notwithstanding  the  spiritual  wastes 
that  everywhere  abound,  and  the  fact  that  our  Lord's  injunc- 
tion, "Preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  is  utterly  un- 
fulfilled. 

This  state  of  things,  it  was  urged,  betrays  a  deficiency  in 
our  existing  methods.  It  is  not  to  be  traced  to  incompetency 
in  the  ministry.  Whatever  may  be  true  in  individual  cases, 
though  some  may  have  mistaken  their  calling,  so  sweeping 
and  cruel  a  charge  cannot  be  brought,  with  any  show  of 
justice  or  truth,  against  this  large  body  of  faithful  and  devoted 
men,  —  men  who  will  compare  favorably,  on  the  whole, 
with  the  ministry  of  any  church  or  of  any  land,  or  with  their 
brethren  in  our  own  church  more  favorably  circumstanced  ; 
and  who  are  ready  and  anxious,  if  the  opportunity  were 
afforded,  to  do  good  service  for  the  church  and  for  their 


73 

Lord.  This  cannot,  with  any  reason  or  fairness,  be  treated 
as  a  purely  commercial  question,  and  allowed  to  adjust  itself 
by  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  ;  as  though  a  preacher 
were  worth  what  he  will  fetch,  and  will  fetch  what  he  is 
worth,  and  a  poorly-paid  minister  were  for  that  reason  to 
be  subjected  to  the  suspicion  that  he  is  not  worth  a  living 
salary,  and  is  unfit  for  his  work. 

It  was  further  urged  that,  according  to  the  Presbyterian 
doctrine  of  the  unity  of  the  church,  there  is  an  obligation 
resting  upon  the  entire  body  to  secure  to  the  faithful  minis- 
try a  competent  support.  "  There  is  a  field  for  every  true 
and  faithful  minister  of  Christ  in  this  broad  land ;  and  the 
church  ought  to  sustain  him  in  his  field,  as  much  if  he  be  at 
work  in  America  as  if  he  were  at  work  in  India  or  in  China." 
"  Although  the  particular  congregation  which  is  served  by 
the  living  preacher  is,  in  a  sense,  more  immediately  obli- 
gated, as  being  more  directly  interested  and  obliged,  yet 
the  church  at  large  is  surely  bound  to  secure  a  maintenance 
for  her  ministers,  as  ordained  by  her  for  the  work  at  large, 
and  as  belonging  to  her  necessary  apparatus  for  evangel- 
izing the  world." 

This  duty  has  in  fact  been  recognized  by  the  church  from 
the  beginning,  and  through  her  Home  Mission  Board  she  is 
extending  aid  to  1,200  out  of  her  2,700  working  ministers. 
But  this  very  circumstance  calls  for  serious  thought :  a  large 
proportion  of  the  churches  assisted  by  the  Board  of  Home 


74 

Missions  are  in  the  older  States  and  in  long-settled  districts. 
Many  of  them  have  been  in  this  state  of  dependence  for 
many  years,  and  are  making  no  visible  progress  toward 
self-support.  And,  then,  the  entire  number  that  must  be 
aided  is  so  considerable  that  the  amount  which  can  be 
afforded  to  each  is  necessarily  small,  —  much  smaller  in  a 
multitude  of  cases  than  the  presbyteries  and  churches  ask 
for,  and  smaller  than  the  Board  would  gladly  grant  if  they 
had  the  means  at  their  disposal  to  do  so.  The  inquiry  hence 
arose,  whether  this  important  and  indispensable  arm  of  our 
church  might  not  be  materially  strengthened,  and  the  work 
which  it  is  now  vigorously  yet  vainly  struggling  to  overtake 
be  essentially  aided  by  the  incorporation  of  a  new  feature 
in  our  system  of  relief.  While  the  Board  is  left  to  continue 
the  same  method  as  heretofore,  and  to  accomplish  all  that  it 
is  possible  for  it  to  do,  cannot  a  new  agency  be  devised, 
auxiliary  to  it,  which  shall  relieve  the  Board  of  a  portion  of 
its  work ;  and,  by  applying  a  special  stimulus  to  such  mis- 
sion churches  as  are  prepared  for  it,  and  granting  them 
larger  aid  for  a  limited  period,  afford  a  competent  support 
at  once  to  a  number  of  deserving  pastors,  whose  hands  will 
thus  be  strengthened  and  their  hearts  encouraged,  and  their 
churches  put  upon  a  process  which  will  soon  issue  in  self- 
support,  and  thus  place  them  beyond  the  need  of  further 
assistance?  The  larger  outlay,  for  a  brief  term,  in  churches 
of  this  description,  would  be  true  economy,  if  it  could  be  so 


75 

applied  as  to  impart  a  new  stimulus  to  them,  and  they  could 
be  thereby  roused  to  bestir  themselves  to  do  their  best  to 
stand  alone,  instead  of  sinking  down  contented  in  a  state  of 
permanent  dependence.  This  method  can  then  be  success- 
ively applied  to  ever-widening  circles.  As  churches  thus 
effectively  relieved  are  in  succession  lifted  out  of  their  state 
of  needy  dependence  into  the  condition  of  self-support,  the 
funds  thus  released  could  be  in  turn  extended  to  others,  with 
the  hope  that,  in  no  very  long  time,  the  entire  body  of  the 
hard-working  and  poorly-paid  pastors  throughout  our  whole 
church  could  be  reached,  and  a  decent  maintenance  afforded 
to  them  all;  while  the  Home  Board,  thus  relieved,  could  be 
extending  its  arm  of  aid  further  and  further  into  the  regions 
beyond,  and  reclaiming  the  outlying  wastes  and  desolations. 
This  attempt  to  raise  the  salaries  of  the  underpaid  min- 
istry to  the  point  of  a  comfortable  maintenance  as  speedily 
as  possible,  and  to  bring  the  mission  churches  up  to  the  con- 
dition of  self-support,  was,  it  was  constantly  urged,  to  be 
associated  with  and  furthered  by  the  conjunction  of  contigu- 
ous weak  charges  under  one  pastorate.  It  was  no  part  of 
the  scheme  to  further  the  multiplication  of  separate  charges 
in  districts,  or  under  circumstances  where  they  manifestly 
could  never  be  sustained,  or  to  burden  the  church  at  large 
with  the  support  of  two  or  more  separate  pastors  in  the  midst 
of  a  population  which  could  be  adequately  served  by  a  single 
pastor  whom  they  could  maintain  themselves.     The  mistake 


76 

of  dissociating  churches  which  had  been  and  ought  to  be 
joined  together  may  sometimes  have  been  inadvertently  com- 
mitted in  the  subsequent  management  of  this  scheme,  and 
there  may  have  been  other  errors  of  judgment  arising  from 
imperfect  information  ;  but  these  were  no  part  of  the  scheme 
itself.  And  no  one  would  be  more  ready  to  admit  or  to  cor- 
rect such  errors,  if  they  existed,  than  those  who  were 
charged  with  its  administration. 

Influenced  by  such  considerations  as  these,  the  General 
Assembly  adopted  the  scheme  of  sustentation  which  was 
proposed ;  appointing  a  special  committee  to  take  it  in 
charge,  and  electing  Dr.  Jacobus  to  be  its  secretary,  —  a  post 
which  he  accepted  and  held,  so  long  as  he  retained  it  at  all, 
on  the  condition  that  he  should  receive  no  salary  for  his  ser- 
vices. The  object  attempted  was  to  enable  such  churches 
as  came  into  the  scheme  to  raise  their  salaries  to  $1,000. 
In  order  to  do  this,  the  church  must  itself  make  up  at  least 
$500  toward  this  amount ;  and  the  sum  raised  for  this  pur- 
pose b}r  the  church  must  amount  to  not  less  than  $7.30  per 
member ;  the  minister  in  charge  must  be  regularly  settled 
as  a  pastor;  the  church  must  contribute,  in  advance,  to  the 
Sustentation  Fund  one-twentieth  of  their  share  of  the  salary, 
and  must  make  systematic  contributions  to  all  the  boards  of 
the  church ;  and  both  the  necessities  of  the  church,  and  its 
satisfactory  compliance  with  all  the  requirements  of  the 
scheme,  must    be    regularly    certified    by   the    Presbytery. 


77 

Each  congregation  aided  was  thus  incited  to  do  its  utmost 
for  its  own  support :  it  was  trained  to  take  an  interest  in  all 
the  causes  of  benevolence  conducted  by  our  church ;  the 
formation  of  the  pastoral  relation  was  encouraged,  instead  of 
the  loose  connection  of  stated  supply  ;  contiguous  churches 
were  encouraged  to  unite,  in  order  to  avail  themselves  more 
readily  of  the  benefits  offered  by  the  scheme ;  and  the  regu- 
lar growth  of  membership  would,  in  a  few  years,  by  the 
very  conditions  of  the  aid  furnished,  place  the  church 
beyond  the  need  of  receiving  it  further. 

Several  months  were  necessarily  spent  in  getting  the 
scheme  fairly  started  :  but  in  the  first  annual  report  to  the 
General  Assembly,  in  1872,  the  Secretary  was  able  to  state, 
that  748  churches  had  contributed  $41,073.52  to  the  cause 
of  sustentation  ;  and  meanwhile  the  receipts  of  the  Board  of 
Home  Missions,  instead  of  being  diminished  thereby,  were 
$30,000  more  than  ever  before;  and  it  was,  in  addition, 
relieved  of  the  support  of  72  ministers  transferred  to  this 
scheme.  114  applications  for  aid  had  been  granted,  amount- 
ing to  $18,212.92  ;  and  61  stated  supplies  had  been  made 
pastors  ;  and  the  minutes  of  the  Assembly  for  that  year  show 
an  increase  of  150  installations  over  either  of  the  two  pre- 
vious years,  with  no  increase  of  dissolutions.  The  report 
further  states  :  "  Many  churches  testify  that  the  people  have 
done  far  more  for  the  minister,  and  for  all  the  boards  of  the 
church,   than   would    have  been   possible  under    any  other 


78 

arrangement :  e.g. , '  Our  people  have  done  fifty  per  cent  more 
for  the  salary,  and  one  hundred  per  cent  more  for  the  boards, 
than  ever  they  had  done.'  .  .  .  The  scheme  set  on  foot  a  new 
movement.  Many  churches  advanced  their  salary  to  $1,000, 
without  our  aid  ;  many  stated  supplies  hastened  to  become 
pastors  ;  churches  which  were  below  the  minimum  increased 
their  salary,  so  as  to  come  under  the  scheme.  If,  as  now 
seems,  this  movement  is  to  go  largely  forward  along  the 
whole  line  of  our  weak  churches,  there  will  be  a  general 
lifting  up  of  large  numbers,  and  that  according  to  a  scheme 
which  will  not  allow  of  dependence  upon  the  church  funds 
for  an  indefinite  time.  They  will  here  be  put  upon  a  sliding 
scale  towards  speedy  self-sustentation." 

The  second  annual  report  to  the  Assembly,  in  1873,  states 
that,  during  the  past  year,  1,269  churches  had  contributed 
$60,184.20,  which,  with  the  former  balance,  gave  a  total  of 
$83,044.80  ;  308  ministers  had  been  taken  under  the  scheme, 
and  $70,858.40  disbursed ;  200  home  missionaries  had,  by 
the  operation  of  the  plan,  been  settled  as  pastors,  and  the 
funds  of  the  Home  Board  relieved  to  that  extent.  "  Reports 
have  been  received  from  200  churches  under  our  scheme, 
which  show  their  total  of  contributions  to  the  boards  to  be 
$20,000,  as  compared  with  $6,000  during  the  same  period 
previous.  Most  of  these  churches  had  been  under  the 
Home  Mission  Board,  which  is  thus  doubly  relieved  by 
transfer  of  the  churches,  and  bv  increase  of  funds  from  this 


79 

source  and  by  this  means.  In  the  amount  raised  by  these 
churches  themselves  for  the  salaries  of  their  ministers,  the 
increase  is  to  $110,000,  from  $85,000  previous  to  sustenta- 
tion.  These  figures  show  a  solid  gain  of  $39,000  under  this 
regimen.  And,  estimating  for  the  remainder  (one-half  more) 
in  the  same  proportion,  we  would  have  $58,500  of  gain  in 
salaries  and  offerings  to  the  boards  beyond  the  same  period 
previous."  And  testimonies  of  the  strongest  and  most  de- 
cided character  are  recited,  from  various  synods,  presbyteries, 
and  individual  churches,  to  the  salutary  and  effective  work- 
ing of  the  scheme.  And  the  General  Assembly  declared 
"that  this  scheme  is  one  of  the  very  highest  importance  to 
our  church  ;  that  its  administration  has  been  prudent  and 
able  ;  and  that  it  should  no  longer  be  regarded  in  the  light 
of  an  experiment,  but  fully  established  as  a  part  of  the  settled 
policy  of  the  church."  The  agitation  of  the  subject,  also, 
bore  its  indirect  fruits ;  the  Assembly's  minutes  showing  an 
increase,  during  the  year,  of  over  half  a  million  of  dollars  in 
the  column  of  ministers'  salaries. 

The  next  year  was,  in  all  respects,  a  most  trying  one,  and 
calculated  to  put  the  scheme  to  the  severest  test ;  both  because 
of  the  financial  panic,  and  because  the  report  of  the  Consoli- 
dation Committee,  published  some  time  before  the  meeting 
of  the  Assembly,  had  suggested  a  discontinuance  of  the 
Sustentation  Committee  as  a  separate  agency,  and  thus  led 
to  a  greater  diminution  of  the  receipts  in  the  last  two  months 


8o 

of  the  year  than  had  previously  been  occasioned  by  the 
monetary  stringency.  In  spite  of  these  depressing  circum- 
stances, however,  the  third  report,  in  1874,  mentions  266 
pastorates  under  the  scheme,  13  of  which  had  become  self- 
sustaining ;  $51,758.03  had  been  received,  which,  with  the 
surplus  of  the  previous  year,  gave  a  total  of  $63,944.43; 
and  $67,388.63  had  been  paid  out,  leaving  an  indebtedness 
of  $3,444.20.  The  March  payments  were  in  arrears  about 
$4,000;  and  on  the  next  pay-day,  June  1st,  there  would 
be  a  further  liability  of  $14, 500. 1  Of  the  churches  aided  by 
the  scheme,  full  reports  had  been  received  from  155  :  from 
which  it  appeared  that  they  had  raised,  during  the  year, 
$44,506  more  for  ministers'  salaries  than  they  had  done 
prior  to  sustentation,  and  $9,365  more  for  contributions  to 
the  several  boards  of  the  church ;  making  a  total  gain  of 
$53,871.  If  those  not  fully  reported  were  estimated  in  the 
same  proportion,  there  would  result  a  total  gain  of  $92,800. 

Dr.  Jacobus  resigned  his  official  connection  with  the 
scheme  at  that  time ;  and  the  Assembly  recognized  the 
value  and  the  disinterestedness  of  his  services  in  the  follow- 
ing resolution  :  — 

"Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Assembly  are  due,  and 
are    hereby  cordially  tendered,  to   the   Rev.  M.  W.  Jaco- 

1  At  the  time  of  its  transfer  to  the  Board  of  Home  Missions,  in  the 
month  of  June,  the  deficiency  amounted  to  $31,014.35,  according  to  the 
statement  of  the  Board. 


8i 

bus,  D.D.,  Secretary  and  Treasurer  of  the  Sustentation 
Committee,  who  has  served  the  church  in  this  capacity  for 
three  years,  with  distinguished  ability  and  faithfulness  and 
without  salary." 

It  may  be  safely  said,  that  no  enterprise  in  which  our 
church  has  ever  engaged  met  with  more  marked  favor,  or 
achieved  a  higher  success  in  so  brief  a  period.  There  were 
diversities  of  judgment  in  respect  to  some  of  the  details  of 
the  scheme,  and  opposition  was  encountered  in  certain  quar- 
ters. But  the  facts,  which  stand  on  permanent  record, 
abundantly  demonstrate  the  feasibility  of  the  scheme  in  the 
hands  of  a  man  of  the  requisite  executive  ability,  who  has 
faith  in  its  working,  and  who  means  to  make  it  succeed. 


LETTERS,   RESOLUTIONS,   &c. 


From  a  Member  of  his  Church  in  Pittsburgh. 

Allequippa,  Nov.  6. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Jacobus,  —  I  have  hesitated  about  writ- 
ing to  you,  lest  the  expression  of  my  grief  should  renew 
your  own,  and  be  less  kind  than  silence.  My  thoughts 
are  constantly  with  you,  and  I  feel  that  I  must  express 
something  of  the  love  and  sympathy  I  bear  you.  My 
dear,  dear  Mrs.  Jacobus,  if  /am  left  desolate  and  sor- 
rowing, how  will  you  bear  this  bereavement?  You  know 
all  that  /  have  lost  in  the  death  of  your  dear  husband, 
—  a  most  true  and  faithful  pastor,  wise  counsellor,  sym- 
pathizing in  my  sorrows,  and  ever  ready  to  aid  me  by 
the  kindest,  wisest  advice;  a  most  honored  friend,  —  yes, 
he  allowed  me  to  call  him  such,  though  the  title  I  ever 
felt  to  be  the  greatest  condescension  from  one  such  as  he. 
Ah!  how  can  I  spare  him?  Where  can  I  ever  find  an 
ear  so  willing  and  a  voice  so  wise?  Whose  prayers  for 
me  and  mine  can  ever  replace  his?     I  trust  that  my  love 


«3 

for  my  dear  pastor  will  lead  me  to  honor  him  by  a  re- 
newed consecration  of  myself  to  the  service  of  the  Master 
whom  he  so  loved,  and  to  whose  glory  he  devoted  his 
life  and  talents.  Already  he  seems  to  speak  to  me  across 
the  great  river  that  lies  between  us ;  his  former  words 
come  back  with  all  their  winning  earnestness;  and,  for 
his  dear  sake,  I  will  make  new  efforts  to  serve  my  God 
faithfully.  With  a  heart  full  of  sympathy,  believe  me 
Your  loving  and  sorrowing  friend, 

E.  S.  B. 


From  a  Member  of  his  Brooklyn  Church. 

Baltimore,  Nov.  2. 

My  dear  Friend,  —  I  have  just  laid  down  the  paper 
containing  the  sad  intelligence  of  the  death  of  our  be- 
loved former  pastor.  I  do  not  write  with  even  the 
faintest  hope  of  soothing  your  deep,  overwhelming  sor- 
row ;  but  to  assure  you  that  in  our  home  there  is  deep 
sympathy  with  you,  and  to  express,  with  numberless 
others,  our  sincere  affection  and  genuine,  heartfelt  esteem, 
and  even  reverence,  for  that  dear  one  whose  departure 
has  left  an  aching  void  in  the  hearts  of  so  many.  As 
I  read  the  account  of  his  useful  life  and  his  endearing 
qualities,  my  heart  responded,  "So  true,  so  true,  is 
it  all !  "  How  often  has  my  memory  dwelt  so  lovingly  on 
that  precious  visit  to  us  here   during  that  meeting  of  the 


84 

Northern  General  Assembly !  Those  delightful  days  of 
sweet  Christian  intercourse  can  never  be  forgotten.  The 
evenings  were  warm ;  and,  as  we  sat  in  the  darkened 
parlor  at  the  hour  of  worship,  there  was  no  need  of  the 
written  word  for  him  who  conducted  our  devotions  for 
us.  A  psalm  of  David  was  repeated  so  sweetly  that  the 
charm  of  it  was  enhanced  ;  and  then  the  earnest  petitions 
which  followed  made  us  feel  as  though  we  were  indeed 
in  a  little  sanctuary  below.  In  your  grief  is  no  bit- 
terness, except  that  it  will  cost  us  a  bitter  pang  to  sur- 
render our  dearest  treasures,  even  into  the  loving  arms  of 

our  Redeemer. 

Yours,  with  the  same  old  love, 

S.  H.  A. 


From  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Seminary. 

Steubenville,  Oct.  28. 

My  dear,  dear,  afflicted  Friend, — I  have  just 
received  your  telegram.  Oh,  how  sudden  and  unexpected  ! 
I  feel  that  my  best,  dearest  friend  on  earth  has  gone  from 
me ;  but  gone  to  his  Saviour  and  Lord.  I  had  never 
thought  of  his  going  before  me ;  but  such  is  the  divine 
will,  and  I  bow  to  it.  He  had  spoken  to  me  more  than 
once  of  Dr.  Howard's  death,  and  the  effect  on  his  mind ; 
but  we  both  agreed  that  the  time  and  way  made  but  little 
difference  when  we  are  prepared.     He  was  fully  so.     How 


§5 

has  glory  succeeded  to  the  darkness  of  this  world !  He 
had  many,  many  friends  who  will  deplore  their  loss  in  his 
sudden  departure  from  among  them.  It  will  give  a  shock 
to  our  whole  church ;  but  our  dear  Seminary  is  the  great- 
est loser,  after  his  own  family.  Accept  the  sympathy  of 
my  stricken  heart  for  you  and  all  the  children. 
Your   affectionate   friend, 

Charles  C.  Beatty. 

From  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Seminary. 

Pittsburgh,  Nov.  8. 
Mrs.  Dr.  Jacobus:  — 

My  dear  Madam,  —  I  thought,  on  my  return  home 
from  Newark,  I  would  see  you,  and  express  my  sym- 
pathy in  this  hour  of  your  sorrow  and  bereavement ;  but 
illness  prevents  me.  Dr.  Jacobus  was  one  of  my  dearest 
and  most  beloved  friends.  He  is  gone :  God  has  taken 
him.  He  served  his  day  and  generation  faithfully,  and, 
as  far  as  it  is  possible  for  man  to  do,  he  fulfilled  the 
whole  duty  of  man.  The  family's  loss,  the  church's  loss, 
the  Seminary's  loss,  is  great  beyond  measure,  and  to  us 
irreparable.  He  has  finished  his  labors  :  his  works  will  fol- 
low him.  He  has  received  the  crown  ;  and  nothing  is  left 
undone  by  him  for  us  to  do  but  to  bless  and  thank  God  for 
his  lifetime  labors  of  love,  and  for  his  shining  example 
in  the  church  and  the  world.  We  have  received  all  by 
his  hands  from  God,  as  a   faithful   shepherd.     In   an   hour 


86 

when  we  thought  not,  God  has  taken  him  from  us.  Our 
duty  to  God  is  plain, — that  we  cling  closer  to  his  God 
and  our  God,  and  say,  "  Thy  will  be  done." 

Very  truly  yours, 

James  Laughlin. 


From  another  Member  of  his  Brooklyn  Church. 

New  York  City,  Nov.  io,  1876. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Jacobus, — You,  of  course,  learned  that 
Mrs.  Dunham  and  myself  attended  the  funeral  services  of 
your  dear  husband.  It  was  a  sad,  sad  blow  to  us  all. 
To  say  we  sorrow  does  not  express  our  feelings.  There 
was  no  man  living  for  whom  I  entertained  greater  re- 
spect, and,  I  may  add,  no  one  out  of  our  immediate 
family  circle  whom  I  loved  and  revered  as  I  did  the 
doctor.  It  was  only  a  few  days  prior  to  his  decease  1 
was  looking  over  several  of  his  kind  and  affectionate 
letters,  all  showing  his  intense  interest  and  anxiety  for 
my  soul's  salvation.  He  was  a  true  friend.  Mrs.  D. 
joins  me  in  very  affectionate  remembrance  to  you  and 
your  family. 

Very  truly, 

W.  S.  D. 


87 


From  an  Old  Seminary  Friend. 

Utica,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  4,  1876. 

My  dear  Madam,  —  It  is  not  meet  for  a  stranger  to 
intermeddle  with  grief  like  yours  ;  but  my  very  long-long- 
ago  acquaintance  with  your  husband,  formed  during  our 
student  life  at  Princeton,  and  while  seated  at  the  same 
table,  under  the  roof  of  the  Misses  Brearley,  the  high  re- 
gard and  warm  affection  I  then  formed  for  him,  and  which 
the  many  years  past  since  never  impaired,  and  the  rela- 
tions into  which  we  were  brought  at  an  intensely  inter- 
esting and  most  momentous  period  in  the  history  of  our 
church,  impel  me  to  take  the  liberty  of  saying  that  I 
share  your  bereavement;  and  that,  if  sympathy  could  com- 
fort you  in  the  least,  my  heart  is  full  of  it.  Endurance 
and  duty  remain  to  us  here  ;  and  let  me  say  for  your  en- 
couragement that  there  may  be  found  an  untried  sweet- 
ness in  them.  Passing  under  the  rod  is  delicious  indeed; 
and  what  a  satisfaction  there  is  in  letting  the  Lord  work 
out  his  designs  by  us,  even  though  it  be  by  rugged  paths 
and  heavy  crosses  !  But,  with  all  the  rewards  and  enjoy- 
ments of  patience  and  service,  your  eyes  must  turn  now 
from  earth  to  heaven.  The  springs  from  which  you  have 
so  largely  drank    are  broken  up ;    but    a   little  way  on    is 


88 

the  "  pure  river    of    water    of  life,   clear    as    crystal,  pro- 
ceeding out  of  the  throne  of  God   and  of  the  Lamb." 

Yours    most  sincerely, 

P.  H.  Fowler. 

From  a  Ministerial  Friend. 

Albany,  Nov.  i,  1876. 
Mrs.  Jacobus  :  — 

Dear  Madam, — I  am  deeply  afflicted  in  your  great 
affliction,  of  which  I  was  apprised  in  looking  over  the 
New  York  Tribune  last  evening.  None  could  know  your 
husband  without  esteeming  and  loving  him.  I  regard  my 
acquaintance  and  intercourse  with  him,  though  far  less 
than  I  could  have  desired,  a  great  privilege ;  and  the 
reminiscence  will  ever  be  cherished  lovingly.  It  is  a 
great  pleasure  to  me  to  remember  what  a  distinguished 
career  of  Christian  usefulness  your  dear  husband  has  been 
enabled  to  pursue  ;  how  much  good  he  has  done  for  Christ 
and  for  his  fellow-men ;  how  amiable  in  character,  cour- 
teous in  manners,  and  blameless  in  life.  And,  if  it  be 
a  pleasure  to  me  thus  to  remember  him,  how  much  more 
to  you,  my  afflicted  friend?  Do  not  think  of  him  as  dead. 
He  is  not  dead,  but  living,  enjoying  more  of  life,  and  a 
nobler  life,  than  he  ever  enjoyed  here.  May  the  peace 
of  God,  which  passeth  understanding,  keep  your  heart 
and  mind,  through  Christ  Jesus ;  and  may  the  grace  of 
God   be    sufficient    for    you,    and  for   the    whole    circle    of 


89 

family  and  relatives  ;    to  whom  convey  the   sympathy  and 
condolence  of  Your  sincere  friend, 

James  R.  Boyd. 

From  an  Old  Student. 

Plainfield,  Nov.  5. 

Dear  Mrs.  Jacobus, — Just  let  me  say  that,  among 
all  the  letters  you  are  doubtless  receiving,  no  one  of  them 
conveys  a  truer  sympathy  than  that  which  I  would  by 
these  lines  have  you  know  is  in  my  inmost  heart  for  }rou. 
Since  the  death  of  my  old  friend  and  pastor,  Dr.  Cham- 
bers, I  have  felt  nothing  so  deep  and  strong  as  the  emo- 
tions which  possessed  me  when,  on  Wednesday,  I  stood 
by  that  coffin  in  Newark.  It  seemed  so  hard  to  look  on 
that  dear,  familiar  face,  and  think  I  should  see  it  no 
more.  The  memories  of  all  my  pleasant  intercourse  with 
him  in  the  days  of  my  student  life,  and  in  later  days  also, 
came  thronging  in  upon  me,  together  with  thoughts  of 
what  a  large  place  he  filled  in  the  work  of  the  church, 
and  what  a  great  vacancy  was  made  by  his  taking  away. 
How  little  did  I  think  a  year  ago  that  those  beautiful 
lines  he  wrote  on  Mr.  Newkirk's  death  would  thus  soon 
be  applicable  to  himself.  Ah  !  what  "  hosannas  to  the 
Lamb,  with  raptures  all  untold,"  he  has  been  singing 
this  past  week  in  the    home  above  the   skies  ! 

In   tenderest  sympathy,  yours   affectionately, 

John  C.  Bliss. 
12 


90 


From  an  Early  Student. 

Pittsburgh,  Oct.  30,  1876. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Jacobus,  —  I  wish  it  were  in  my  power 
to  say  a  word  to  comfort  your  heart  in  your  great  sor- 
row. If  human  sympathy  could  relieve  your  anguish,  I 
am  sure  you  have  it  from  multitudes  of  God's  dear  people 
throughout  the  world.  The  whole  church  is  afflicted  in 
the  loss  of  our  dear  Dr.  Jacobus.  But  our  loss  is  his 
gain.  Though  his  death  was  so  sudden  and  startling, 
yet  it  was  so  fitting  and  beautiful  !  He  had  finished  his 
work,  and  God  took  him.  "Not  lost,  but  gone  before." 
Done  with  bearing  the  cross,  already  he  wears  the  crown. 

With  a  profound  sense  of  personal  obligation  to  your 
dear  husband,  now  in  glory, 

I  am,  very   sincerely  yours, 

W.  T.  Beatty. 

From  a  Ministerial  Friend. 

DOWNINGTOWN,    PA.,    Oct.    3 1,    1876. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Jacobus,  —  I  am  grieved  beyond  ex- 
pression to  hear  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Jacobus.  The  day 
before  this  intelligence  reached  me,  I  was  engaged  for 
some  time  in  studying  one  of  the  doctor's  commentaries, 
and,  as  I  sat  with  the  book  in  my  hand,  I  fancied  I  could 


9i 

see  the  face  and  form  of  my  beloved  friend,  and  I  seemed  to 
receive  instruction  more  from  him  than  from  the  printed 
page.  Frequently,  I  recall  the  days  I  was  privileged  to 
spend  in  your  happy  home.  How  much  I  enjoyed  those 
visits  it  is  impossible  to  tell.  As  we  sat  in  the  house,  and 
as  we  walked  or  rode  to  and  from  church  or  presbytery, 
the  doctor's  conversation  was  to  me  a  continual  feast.  He 
was  always  agreeable,  interesting,  and  instructive,  and, 
at  times,  full  of  humor.  It  seemed  to  me  that  he  had 
read  every  book  worth  reading ;  that  he  had  knowledge 
of  every  person  of  any  prominence  or  distinction ;  that  he 
was  informed  of  every  question  or  movement  in  church 
or  state  ;  and  that  he  was  as  familiar  with  the  Bible  as  with 
the  alphabet.  It  was  always  a  wonder  to  me  how  he 
could  accomplish  as  much  as  he  did.  While  discharging, 
with  distinguished  ability,  the  responsible  duties  of  pro- 
fessor, he  did  not  fail  to  meet  all  the  requirements  of 
his  office  as  pastor  of  the  Central  Church.  And  yet  he 
found  time  to  write  valuable  commentaries,  for  which 
there  has  been  a  great  and  increasing  demand  in  this 
country  and  in  Great  Britain ;  and  he  attended  religious 
conventions,  and  meetings  of  Presbytery,  Synod,  and  the 
General  Assembly,  and  took  an  active  part  in  their  dis- 
cussions and  proceedings.  His  was  indeed  a  busy  life. 
He  was  a  good  and  faithful  servant  of  our  blessed  Lord 
and  Master,  and  great  will  be  his  joy  and  reward  in 
heaven.     I   sympathize    deeply  with  you  and  your  family 


92 

in  your  sore  bereavement.  Not  many  know  better  than 
I  what  a  heavy  and  irreparable  loss  you  have  sustained. 
Others  feel  the  loss  sustained  by  the  Seminary  and  the 
church,  which  he  loved  and  served  so  well.  Many  will 
lament  the  death  of  Dr.  Jacobus.  Although  he  is  dead, 
yet  we  are  confident  that  he  will  not  be  forgotten ;  and 
that  his  influence,  works,  and  example  will  be  perpet- 
uated. Very  sincerely  yours, 

Francis  J.  Collier. 

Froin  a  Ministerial  Friend. 

Philadelphia,  Oct.  31. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Jacobus,  —  I  am  well  aware  that  you 
are  in  a  condition  of  grief  that  should  make  a  stranger 
hesitate  to  meddle;  but  I  cannot  resist  the  desire  to  ex- 
press my  great  astonishment  and  grief,  and  to  assure  you 
of  my  sympathy.  My  relations  to  your  husband  were 
most  intimate  and  pleasant,  and  my  regard  for  him  the 
highest.  I  cannot  forget  the  deep  interest  he  has  always 
manifested  in  me,  and  his  continued  kindness  to  me 
through  my  entire  ministry.  The  public  esteem,  of  which 
you  have  so  many  assurances,  cannot  compensate  for  the 
great  loss  experienced  in  the  inner  sacred  home-circle, 
where  the  darkness  is  so  thick ;  but  it  must  be  a  gratifi- 
cation to  know  that  your  home-treasure  was  so  valued 
in  the  world,  and,  more  than  all,  in  the  church  of  Christ. 


He  has  done  a  great  work  for  Christ,  and  left  a  name 
most  honorable  in  our  Presbyterian  household.  There 
must  be  a  sweet  rest  for  a  servant  who  toils  so  long  and 
toils  so  well  in  the  vineyard.  The  Master  must  have 
given  a  warm  welcome  in  the  Father's  house  to  one  who 
believed  so  firmly,  and  was  so  helpful  to  the  faith  of  others. 
I  greatly  regretted  his  not  coming  to  Philadelphia.  It  seems 
as  if  God  had  kept  him  for  this  better  change,  and  shown 
His  grace  by  translating  him  from  the  midst  of  many 
friends.  Please  accept  this  word  of  tribute  and  sympathy 
from  one  who  feels  indebted  to  your  husband  and  laments 
his  loss.  May  the  precious  Saviour,  whose  preciousness 
he  so  well  knew  and  could  so  richly  proclaim,  comfort 
you  and  your  fatherless  children,  and  keep  you  in  His 
grace  till  He  brings  you  to  his  glory  and  to  your  dead. 
Very  affectionately,  your  friend  in  Christ, 

Charles  A.  Dickey. 

Extract  from  Minutes  of  the  Faculty  of  Western  Theological  Seminary. 

On  Saturday,  Oct.  28,  at  7  o'clock  a.m.,  suddenly  died 
almost  without  premonition,  our  senior  professor,  Rev. 
Melancthon  Williams  Jacobus,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  having 
faithfully  and  successfully  discharged  his  duties  as  a 
member  of  this  Faculty  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury. 


94 

We,  his  stricken  brethren,  would  leave  on  record,  in  our 
minutes,  this  simple  expression  of  our  love  to  him  ;  of  our 
unspeakable  sense  of  his  loss  to  our  Seminary  ;  of  our  thank- 
fulness for  all  that  God  has  accomplished  for  the  cause  of 
Christ,  through  the  instrumentality  of  this  honored  servant ; 
of  our  prayer  for  grace  to  bear  the  increased  burden  that 
devolves  on  us,  by  the  removal  of  our  head  and  chief,  who 
so  efficiently  sustained  all  the  interests,  and  was  laboriously 
active  in  the  general  management  of  the  affairs,  of  this 
institution ;  and  of  our  tender  and  prayerful  sympathy  for 
his  bereaved  family,  with  whom  we  weep  as  fellow- 
mourners. 

Action  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary. 

Whereas,  since  the  last  meeting  of  this  Board  it  has 
pleased  the  Head  of  the  church  to  remove  by  death  the 
Rev.  Melancthon  W.  Jacobus,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  who,  since 
1851,  has,  with  great  distinction,  filled  the  chair  of  Hebrew 
and  Biblical  Literature  and  Exegesis,  the  members  of  the 
Board  feel  themselves  called  upon  to  give  expression  to 
their  feelings  under  this  great  bereavement,  in  the  following 
minute  :  — 

The  Rev.  Dr.  M.  W.  Jacobus  was  elected  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  1851  to  the  professorship  which  he  has 
fulfilled  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  with  such  distin- 
guished ability  as  not  only  to  give  the  best  benefits  of  culture 


95 

to  the  students  from  time  to  time  under  his  care,  but  also  to 
attract  the  confidence  of  the  church  and  the  country  to  the 
Seminary.  The  fruits  of  his  scholarship  and  extended  study 
have  also  largely  appeared  in  the  valuable  commentaries 
upon  various  books  of  Scripture  which  he  has  given  to  the 
public.  At  the  same  time,  his  active  service  in  behalf  of 
the  benevolent  work  of  our  church,  as  well  as  in  his  able 
ministry  of  the  gospel,  have  made  a  record  which  cannot  be 
obliterated.  He  was  called  away  from  the  midst  of  his 
work,  and  while  he  was  maturing  plans  for  the  advanced 
welfare  of  our  beloved  institution.  His  extensive  reputation 
shall  still  be  cherished  as  a  part  of  the  rich  inheritance  of 
the  Western  Theological  Seminary.  His  spirit  of  consecra- 
tion to  the  Master's  work  leaves  no  doubt,  in  those  who  have 
been  associated  with  him,  that  he  is  now  with  the  Lord. 

A  true  copy  : 

W.  T.  Beatty,  Secretary. 


Resolutions  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the   Western   Theological 

Seminary. 

Resolved,  I.  That  in  the  death  of  Rev.  M.  W.  Jacobus, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  the  senior  professor  of  the  Seminary,  we 
recognize  the  hand  of  an  all-wise  and  merciful  Providence ; 
and,  while  we  deeply  mourn  our  loss  in  the  removal  of 
one  whom  we  have  learned  to  love  and  esteem  most  highly, 
not  only  because  of  his  ripe  scholarship  and  marked  adapt- 


96 

ability  to  the  duties  of  his  chair,  but  because  of  the  great 
excellence  of  his  character,  we  would,  nevertheless,  sub- 
missively bow  to  the  will  of  Him  whom  we  seek  to  serve 
and  unto  whom  we  humbly  look  for  grace  and  wisdom 
in   all    our  ways. 

Resolved,  2.  That  we  hereby  tender  the  widow  and 
children  of  our  deceased  brother  our  warmest  sympathies 
in  this  time  of  sorrow,  and  beg  to  commend  them  to  the 
care  and  mercy  of  our  common  Saviour. 

Resolutions  of  the  Presbytery  of  Allegheny. 

The  Presbytery  of  Allegheny  being  in  session  on  the 
day  of  the  funeral  of  Dr.  M.  W.  Jacobus,  appointed  a 
committee  to  prepare  appropriate  resolutions  expressive 
of  their  views  on  this  sad  occasion.  These  are  submitted 
as    follows  :  — 

1.  Resolved,  That,  in  view  of  the  solemn  lessons  of 
Providence  in  the  sudden  death  of  Rev.  Melancthon 
W.  Jacobus,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  at  so  short  an  interval  after 
the  equally  sudden  death  of  Rev.  William  D.  Howard, 
D.D.,  the  members  of  this  Presbytery  feel  called  upon 
to  give  most  earnest  heed  to  these  impressive  admonitions 
to  quicken  our  diligence  in  our  Master's  work,  inasmuch 
as  we  know  not  in  what  hour  we  too  may  be  called  to 
meet  the  Son  of  man. 


97 

2.  Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  sincere  sympathy  to 
our  sister  Presbytery  of  Pittsburgh  in  the  loss  of  two  of  the 
most  eminent  and  useful  of  their  members  within  so  short 
a  time ;  also,  to  the  Directors  and  Faculty  of  the  Western 
Theological  Seminary,  in  being  deprived  of  the  valuable 
services  of  a  professor  so  eminently  qualified  for  his  work. 

3.  Resolved,  That  we  do  especially  express  our  most 
cordial  sympathy  with  the  bereaved  families  of  our  breth- 
ren, Howard  and  Jacobus,  and  would  commend  them  to 
the  God  of  all  grace  and  consolation,  who  doeth  all  things 
well ;  while  we  would  encourage  ourselves  and  them  with 
the  assurance  that  the  Lord  had  need  of  these  His  ser- 
vants, who  had  so  well  done  their  work  on  earth,  that 
He  may  employ  them  in  higher  and  better  service  in  His 
upper  kingdom. 

Action  of  the  Central  Church  of  Pittsburgh. 

With  profound  sorrow  this  congregation  has  heard  of 
the  death  of  its  former  pastor,  Dr.  Melancthon  Wil- 
liams Jacobus,  who  died  suddenly  at  his  residence  in 
Allegheny  City,  on  the  morning  of  Oct.  28,  1876;  and, 
while  we  bow  in  submission  to  the  will  of  "  Him  who 
doeth  all  things  well,"  we  desire  to  pay  a  proper  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  the  eminent  and  beloved  deceased. 

In  the  death  of  Dr.  Jacobus  the  ministry  has  lost  one 

13 


98 

of  its  brightest  lights,  the  church  one  of  its  boldest  and  most 
successful  defenders,  his  family  its  honored  head,  and  society 
a  devout  Christian.      His  life  was  an  eminently  successful 
one.     Graduating  at  an  early  age,  and  with  high  honors, 
at  Princeton  College,  he  shortly  thereafter  entered  the  min- 
istry in  the  Presbyterian    Church,    and    preached   and    la- 
bored   in    an    Eastern   congregation  with  great  acceptance 
for  many  years,  and  until   he  was  elected  professor  in  the 
Western  Theological  Seminary  of  our  neighboring  city  of 
Allegheny.      He    came    amongst  us   in    the    maturity    and 
vigor  of  his    full    manhood;    bringing  a   ripe    scholarship, 
a    mind   naturally   strong    and   thoroughly   trained    by   the 
closest  habits  of  application  and  study,  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  his   profession,   and   an    absolute    devotion   to  the 
cause  in  which   he  was   engaged,  he  filled  the   position  to 
which  he  had  been  chosen  with  the  greatest  success  and 
honor,   continuously  down  to  the  time  when  he  was  sum- 
moned hence  by  the  Master.     In  all  these  years,  he  was 
a  leader  in   the  church,  as  author,  teacher,  and  preacher, 
ever  ready  to   aid  and   strengthen  her  friends ;   and   a  for- 
midable  champion    in    her    defence    against   the  attacks  of 
her  foes,  the  founder  of  some  of  her  most  glorious  enter- 
prises, and  the  sharer  of  some  of  the  greatest  triumphs. 

But  it  is  chiefly  to  him  as  pastor  of  this  church  and 
congregation  we  would  pay  our  tribute.  This  position  he 
filled  for  a  period  of  more  than  fourteen  years,  commencing 


99 

in  1858;  and  those  of  us  who  sat  under  his  ministry  can 
bear  loving  testimony  to  the  power,  the  progress,  the  in- 
fluence, and  prosperity  of  the  church  during  that  time. 
Truly  the  "Lord  did  guide  him  continually;"  and  this 
his  church  was  "like  a  watered  garden  and  spring  of 
water,  whose  waters  failed  not."  During  this  pastorate 
he  was  performing  his  duties  as  professor  in  the  Seminary, 
and  writing  those  books  which  will  live  after  him  and  be 
an  honor  to  his  name,  in  guiding  and  assisting  those  in 
search  of  truth.  His  life  was  one  of  actual  active  service 
in  the  cause  of  the  Master.  His  work  will  testify  that  he 
wrought  with  labor  and  travail  night  and  day,  neither  an 
idler  nor  drone ;  setting  an  example  to  the  rising  ministry 
of  earnest  and  abundant  service.  He  was  called  away 
suddenly  from  the  midst  of  his  usefulness,  and  before  age 
had  compelled  a  relaxation  from  his  labors.  He  continued 
to  love  and  cherish  his  association  with  us  until  his  sudden 
and  lamented  death.  To  us  his  Christian  character  was 
lovely ;  let  his  memory  be  blessed.  At  the  time  of  his 
death,  he  had  served  more  years  as  pastor,  with  one 
exception,  than  any  others  then  living  in  our  two  cities ; 
an  aged  and  lamented  one  having  preceded  him  into  the 
presence  of  the  Master  only  a  few  days,  in  a  similar  man- 
ner and  almost  as  suddenly. 

The  lives   and   the    deaths   of  these,   who,  with    others, 
have  gone  to  sit  down  with  the  patriarchs  in  the  kingdom 


IOO 

of  God,  are  fraught  with  lessons  to  us.  Let  us  remem- 
ber the  words  of  admonition  of  the  lamented  dead,  in  his 
last  sermon  to  us:  "The  fathers,  where  are  they?  and 
the  prophets,  do  they  live  for  ever?  But  our  work  as  a 
church  is  not  yet  done.  The  field  remains,  and  widens 
as  men  pass  by.  Occupy  it.  God  opens  a  path  ;  but  we 
must  do  the  marching.  His  path  is  open  only  to  those 
who  go  forward.  One  step  at  a  time  is  all  that  God  re- 
quires. Near  by  to  Marah  are  the  palm-trees  and  wells 
of  Elim  ;  and  just  by  is  the  blessed  country,  and  the  clusters 
of  Eshcol  are  there  for  such,  and  only  such,  as  will  go 
in  and  gather  them." 

To  the  stricken  family  we  offer  our  sincere  Christian 
sympathy  and  condolence  in  this  the  sad  hour  of  their 
bereavement,  and  direct  them  to  go  for  comfort  to  that 
source  to  which  he,  if  living,  would  point  them  in  all 
their  troubles. 


Resolutions  of  the  Faculty  of  the   United  Presbyteriaii   Theological 
Seminary  at  Allegheny. 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  God  to  remove  by  death  Rev. 
M.  W.  Jacobus,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Oriental  and 
Biblical  Literature  in  the  Western  Theological  Seminary 
in  this  city,  a  position  which  he  has  occupied  for  twenty- 
five  years,  therefore, — 


IOI 

Resolved,  i.  That  we,  the  Faculty  of  the  United  Pres- 
byterian Seminary  at  Allegheny,  cherishing,  as  we  have 
done,  a  high  respect  for  this  brother,  not  only  as  one  who 
has,  by  his  extensive  erudition  and  indefatigable  labors, 
advanced  the  cause  of  theological  literature,  but  as  one 
whose  conduct  has  ever  been  that  of  the  Christian  gentle- 
man, do  hereby  express  the  deep  sorrow  which  his  re- 
moval has  awakened  in  our  hearts,  and  our  warm  sympathy 
with  those  who  have  by  this  providence  been  deprived  of 
his  counsels,  labors,  and  fellowship. 

2.  That,  as  a  token  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
deceased,  we  will,  as  a  Faculty,  accompanied  by  the 
students  of  this  Seminary,  join  in  the  procession  that  fol- 
lows his  remains  from  his  dwelling  in  Allegheny  to  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Pittsburgh. 

Resohitions  of  the  Professors  and  Students  of  the  Reformed  Presby- 
terian   Theological  Seminary. 

Whereas,  We  have  heard  with  deep  regret  of  the 
sudden  death  of  Rev.  Dr.  Melancthon  W.  Jacobus,  Pro- 
fessor of  Biblical  Literature  and  Exegesis  in  the  Western 
Theological  Seminary  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  :  there- 
fore, — 

Resolved,  i.  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the 
family  of  Dr.  Jacobus  in  the  loss  of  a  beloved    husband 


102 

and  father,  and  earnestly  pray  that  they  may  have  the 
presence  of  the  Comforter  in  this  hour  of  their  deep 
affliction. 

2.  That  we  sympathize  with  the  Theological  Seminary 
with  which  he  was  connected,  in  the  loss  of  a  professor 
so  distinguished  as  a  scholar  and  so  esteemed  for  his 
Christian  character  and  social  qualities ;  and  with  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  with  which  he  was  so  closely  identi- 
fied, not  only  as  a  professor  in  one  of  her  most  prominent 
seminaries,  but  as  an  earnest  and  efficient  promoter  of 
many  of  her  most  important  schemes. 

3.  That  in  the  death  of  Dr.  Jacobus  we  lament,  in 
common  with  all  the  Evangelical  churches,  the  loss  of  a 
sound  and  judicious  commentator,  whose  labors  have  been 
abundantly  blessed  to  many  in  assisting  them  to  a  more 
correct  and  satisfactory  knowledge  of  the  inspired  Word 
of  God. 

4.  That  we  recognize  in  this  dispensation  the  hand 
of  a  merciful  Providence.  This  good  soldier  of  Christ 
died  with  his  armor  on.  He  was  graciously  spared  much 
of  the  bitterness  of  death.  He  has  been  removed  from  a 
wide  sphere  of  active  usefulness  here  to  a  higher  and  wider 
sphere  there  where  His  servants  serve  Him.  With  loins 
girded  and  lamps  burning,  he  heard  the  voice  of  the  Bride- 
groom, and  was  ready.  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die 
in  the  Lord.  They  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their  works 
do  follow  them." 


io3 


Resolutions  of  the  Evangelical  Ministerial  Association 
of  Pittsburgh. 

As  a  ministerial  association,  united  in  a  common  faith* 
sharing  the  privileges  of  a  covenant  relationship  in  Christ 
our  Lord,  and  engaged  in  a  special  and  sacred  calling, 
we  feel  the  ties  of  our  brotherhood  to  be  the  very  bonds 
of  peace,  and  our  communion  on  earth  the  earnest  of  that 
which  the  saints  in  light  enjoy  for  ever;  for  our  fellowship 
is  now  with  the  Father,  and  with  the  Son,  and  with  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

It  has  pleased  our  heavenly  Father,  whose  we  are,  and 
whom  we  serve,— whose  providence  is  always  wise,  how- 
ever mysterious  or  afflicting  to  His  children,*  -  to  remove 
from  us,  suddenly,  our  esteemed  and  beloved  brother,  the 
Rev.  Melancthon  W.  Jacobus,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  a  sincere 
believer  in  Jesus  Christ,  an  able  minister  of  the  gospel, 
and  a  profound  and  successful  educator  in  the  things  of 
the  Spirit. 

To-day  we  miss  our  brother's  familiar  form  and  face 
and  voice ;  we  suffer  because  our  loss  is  great  and  irrepa- 
rable ;  we  sorrow  because  we  are  personally  bereaved.  We 
wonder  why  one  so  dear,  so  near,  so  genial,  so  true,  so 
strong,  — why  one  so  ready,  competent,  and  willing  to  help 
us  by  his  counsel,  and  share  with  us  in  toil   and  sacrifice, 


104 

—  should  be  thus  unexpectedly  removed  from  our  ranks. 
And  yet  we  know  that  for  such  to  die  is  gain,  that  our 
missing  brother's  life  is  "hid  with  Christ  in  God,"  and  that 
there  shall  be  reunion  and  reassociation  of  all  believers 
by  and  by. 

We  shall  strive  to  emulate  the  worthy  example  of  our 
absent  friend  and  brother  by  a  more  consecrated  service, 
by  renewed  diligence  and  zeal,  by  patience,  vigilance, 
courage,  charity,  and  faith  like  his;  and,  like  him,  we 
shall  try  to  live  in  such  constant  communion  with  our 
Saviour  as  to  be  ready,  at  any  moment,  to  depart,  and  be 
"  for  ever  with  the  Lord." 

We  tender  our  heartfelt  sympathies  to  the  bereaved 
family  of  our  dear  brother  Jacobus,  and  commend  them 
to  the  gracious  protection  of  One  who  abideth  with  them 
always,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

To  the  students  of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary, 
bereft  of  a  teacher  both  revered  and  loved,  we  extend  the 
warm  hand-pressure  of  a  silent  grief  which  words  may 
not  express. 

With  family,  fellow-professors,  and  students,  with  the 
church  of  his  early  and  eventful  life,  with  the  Christian 
community  at  large,  with  the  great  multitude  of  those  who 
have  been  edified  and  comforted  by  his  books,  so  widely 
circulated  both  in  our  own  and  foreign  lands,  we  mingle 
our  tears  to-day  ;    and  yet  with   all   do  we  rejoice  in    the 


io5 

hope  of  immortality  and  eternal  life.  "Then  shall  the 
redeemed  of  the  Lord  return  and  come  with  singing  to 
Zion ;  and  everlasting  joy  shall  be  upon  their  head ;  they 
shall  obtain  joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and  sighing 
shall  flee   away." 

Resolutions  of  the  Baptist  Ministers  of  Pittsburgh 
and  Allegheny. 

Whereas,  It  has  been  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
Conference  of  Baptist  Ministers  of  Pittsburgh  and  Allegheny 
that  the  Rev.  Professor  M.  W.  Jacobus,  D.D.,  departed  this 
life   on  Saturday  morning  last : 

Resolved,  That  we  unitedly  express  our  sympathy  with 
the  sorrowing  relations ;  our  esteem  for  him  as  a  Christian 
brother  and  as  a  divine ;  and  that  Rev.  R.  W.  Pearson, 
D.D.,  Rev.  J.  S.  Wrightnour,  and  Rev.  Wm.  H.  Mc- 
Kinney  be  appointed  to  attend  his  funeral  on  behalf  of 
this  Conference. 


Resolntio7is  of  the   Cliosophic  Society   of  the   College 
of  New   Jersey. 

Whereas,  God  in  His  own  wise  providence  has  called 
to  himself  our  fellow-member,  Rev.  Dr.  M.  W.  Jacobus, 
of  the  class  of  '34 ;    and  whereas,  in  his  death,  the  Clio- 

14 


io6 

sophic  Society  mourns  the  loss  of  an  honored  and  worthy 
friend,  whose  high  Christian  character,  intellectual  worth, 
and  devotion  to  her  interests  have  won  for  him  a  name 
which  we  all  love  to  recall:    therefore,   be  it  — 

Resolved,  That,  whilst  our  hearts  are  saddened  at  the 
thought  that  we  shall  see  his  face  and  hear  his  voice  no 
more,  yet  we  reverently  bow  in  submission  to  God's  will ; 
knowing  that  He  who  doth  lead  us  into  darkness  will  bring 
us  again  to  the  light. 

Resolved,  That,  in  this  dark  shadow  of  affliction,  we 
would  tender  our  deepest  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the 
bereaved  family.  To  them  there  is  left  a  father's  memory 
and  a  father's  prayers;  to  us,  an  example  of  a  higher 
Christian  life. 

Resolved,  That,  in  token  of  our  regard,  the  hall  be 
draped  for  thirty  days,  and  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
attend  his  funeral. 

Letter  from   Great  Britain. 

The  sudden  death  of  the  distinguished  Dr.  Jacobus 
has  caused  wide-spread  sorrow  here  as  well  as  with  you. 
It  was  meet  and  fitting  that  Drs.  Hall  and  McCosh  should 
join  in  the  sad  obsequies  to  represent  the  churches  here 
on  the  mournful  occasion.  The  distinguished  doctor  be- 
longed  to  the    entire  Catholic    church.     His   learning,  his 


107 

works,  his  name,  and  his  fame  are  its  common  heritage, 
pregnant  with  enduring  preciousness,  rich  with  undying, 
noble  inspiration.  Presbyterianism  may  claim  them  with 
special  joy,  but  cannot  monopolize  them  as  exclusively 
its  possessions.  The  eulogies  pronounced  over  him  were 
appreciatory  and  just,  free  from  extravagant  adulation. 
In  chastened,  correct,  and  discriminating  language  all  the 
panegyrics  were  embodied. 


The  following  extract  from  a  sermon  by  Dr. 
Jacobus  may  fitly  conclude  this  memorial  vol- 
ume :  — 

For  to  me  to  live  is  Christ,  —  Christ  for  the  rule 
of  living,  Christ  for  the  motive  of  living,  Christ  for  the 
ideal  of  living,  Christ  for  the  source  and  spring  of  living, 
Christ  for  the  very  definition  of  living.  Then,  indeed, 
you  may  afford  to  be  in  a  happy  balance  between  two 
worlds,  — to  have  Christ  with  you  on  earth,  or  to  be  with 
Christ  in  heaven.  Walking  with  God,  like  Enoch,  it  can- 
not be  but  that  you  shall  go  up  to  God  virtually  without 
death,   without  its  sting  and  curse  and  bitterness. 

And  when,  some  day,  men  will  inquire  why  your  place 
is  vacant  in  the  business  circle,  in  the  household,  and  in 
the  sanctuary,  it  will   be  said,  ,r  He  walked  with  God,  and 


io8 

was  not,  for  God  took  him."  He  went  up,  not  in  any 
chariot  of  fire,  but  on  the  soft  wing  of  the  covenant  angel. 
From  where  he  daily  climbed  to  the  topmost  round  of 
Jacob's  ladder,  he  stepped  directly  into  heaven.  From 
where  he  trod  on  the  high  road  of  Christian  living,  far 
up  towards  the  celestial  city,  he  found  the  door  wide  open 
into  the  golden  streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 


Cambridge :   Press  of  John  Wilson  &  Son. 


DATE  DUE 


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